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I  PI 


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OBITUARY  ADDRESSES 


ft   1AJ8ION  OF  THE  DEATH 


HON.  J<  HN  C.  CALHOUN, 


A  SENATOR  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA, 


SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


APRIL    1,    1850. 


PRINTED   BY    ORDER    OF   THE    SENATE   OP   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


WASHINGTON: 

PRINTED   BY   JNO.    T.   TOWERS. 

1850. 


y 


J3 


OBITUARY   ADDRESSES 


DELIVERED  ON  THE 


OCCASION  OF  THE  DEATH 


HON.  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN, 

A  SENATOR  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA, 

IN  THE 

SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 
APRIL   1,   1850. 

WITH  THE 

FUNERAL    SERMON 


EEV.    C.   M.    BUTLEK,   D.D., 

CHAPLAIN  OF  THE  SENATE, 

PREACHED  IN  THE  SENATE,  APRIL  2,  1850. 


PRINTED  BY  ORDER  OF  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


WASHINGTON: 

PRINTED   BY   JNO.    T.    TOWERS. 

1850. 


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IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 
APRIL  3,  1850. 


Mr.  Cass  addressed  the  Senate  as  follows: — 

Mr.  President — I  present  the  following  resolution,  and 
ask  its  immediate  and  unanimous  consideration.  This  is 
due,  not  less  to  the  memory  of  him  we  have  lost,  than  to  the 
feelings  of  the  country  in  whose  service  he  passed  a  life 
without  spot  and  without  reproach. 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  of  arrangements  he  directed 
to  cause  to  be  published  in  pamphlet  form,  and  in  such 
manner  as  may  seem  to  them  appropriate,  for  the  use  of  the 
Senate,  ten  thousand  copies  of  the  addresses  made  by  the 
members  of  the  Senate,  together  with  the  discourse  of  the 
Reverend  Dr.  Butler  upon  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  the 
Honorable  John  C.  Calhoun. 

Passed  the  Senate,  April  3,  1850. 

Attest,  ASBURY  DICKINS, 

Secretary. 


6 

-ft 


California- 

cuaryTBdress  is, 


In  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
Monday,  April  lst}  1850. 

On  the  motion  of  Mr.  King,  the  reading  of  the 
Journal  of  Thursday  was  dispensed  with. 

Mr.  Butler  rose  and  said : — 

Mr.  President,  I  rise  to  discharge  a  mournful 
duty,  and  one  which  involves  in  it  considerations 
well  calculated  to  arrest  the  attention  of  this  body. 
It  is,  to  announce  the  death  of  my  late  colleague, 
the  Hon.  John  Caldwell  Calhoun.  He  died  at  his 
lodgings  in  this  city,  yesterday  morning,  at  half-past 
seven  o'clock.  He  was  conscious  of  his  approaching 
end,  and  met  death  with  fortitude  and  uncommon 
serenity.  He  had  many  admonitions  of  its  approach, 
and  without  doubt,  he  had  not  been  indifferent  to 
them.  With  his  usual  aversion  to  professions,  he 
said  nothing  for  mere  effect  on  the  world,  and  his 
last  hours  were  an  exemplification  of  his  life  and 
character,  truth  and  simplicity. 

Mr.  Calhoun,  for  some  years  past,  had  been  suf- 
fering under  a  pulmonary  complaint,  and  under  its 
effects  could  have  reckoned  but  on  a  short  exist- 


.. 


ence.  Such  was  his  own  conviction.  The  imme- 
diate cause  of  his  death  was  an  affection  of  the 
heart.  A  few  hours  before  he  expired,  he  became 
sensible  of  his  situation ;  and  when  he  was  unable 
to  speak,  his  eye  and  look  evinced  recognition  and 
intelligence  of  what  was  passing.  One  of  the  last 
directions  he  gave  was  to  a  dutiful  son,  who  had 
been  attending  him,  to  put  away  some  manuscripts 
which  had  been  written  a  short  time  before,  under 
his  dictation. 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  the  least  despondent  man  I 
ever  knew;  and  he  had,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the 
self-sustaining  power  of  intellect.  His  last  days, 
and  his  last  remarks,  are  exemplifications  of  what 
I  have  just  said.  Mental  determination  sustained 
him,  when  all  others  were  in  despair.  We  saw 
him,  a  few  days  ago,  in  the  seat  near  me,  which  he 
had  so  long  and  honorably  occupied;  we  saw  the 
struggle  of  a  great  mind  exerting  itself  to  sustain  and 
overcome  the  weakness  and  infirmities  of  a  sinking 
body.  It  was  the  exhibition  of  a  wounded  eagle, 
with  his  eyes  turned  to  the  heavens  in  which  he  had 
soared,  but  into  which  his  wings  could  never  carry 
him  again. 

Mr.  President,  Mr.  Calhoun  has  lived  in  an 
eventful  period  of  our  Republic,  and  has  acted  a 
distinguished  part.  I  surely  do  not  venture  too 
much,  when  I  say  that  his  reputation  forms  a  striking 
part  of  a  glorious  history.     Since  1811  until  this 


time,  he  has  been  responsibly  connected  with  the 
Federal  Government.  As  Representative,  Senator, 
Cabinet  *Minister,  and  Vice  President,  he  has  been 
identified  with  the  greatest  events  in  the  political 
history  of  our  country.  And  I  hope  I  may  be  per- 
mitted to  say  that  he  has  been  equal  to  all  the  duties 
which  were  devolved  upon  him  in  the  many  critical 
junctures  in  which  he  was  placed.  Having  to  act 
a  responsible  part,  he  always  acted  a  decided  part. 
It  would  not  become  me  to  venture  upon  the  judg- 
ment which  awaits  his  memory.  That  will  be  formed 
by  posterity  before  the  impartial  tribunal  of  history. 
It  may  be  that  he  will  have  had  the  fate,  and  will 
have  given  to  him  the  judgment  that  has  been 
awarded  to  Chatham 

I  should  do  the  memory  of  my  friend  injustice 
were  I  not  to  speak  of  his  life  in  the  spirit  of  his- 
tory. The  dignity  of  his  whole  character  would 
rebuke  any  tone  of  remark  which  truth  and  judg- 
ment would  not  sanction. 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  and 
was  born  in  Abbeville  district,  on  the  18th  March, 
1782.  He  was  of  an  Irish  family.  His  father, 
Patrick  Calhoun,  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  at  an 
early  age  came  to  Pennsylvania,  thence  moved  to 
the  western  part  of  Virginia,  and  after  Braddock's 
defeat;  moved  to  South  Carolina,  in  1756.  He  and 
his  family  gave  a  name  to  what  is  known  as  the 
Calhoun   settlement  in   Abbeville   district.       The 


8 

mother  of  my  colleague  was  a  Miss  Caldwell,  born 
in  Charlotte  county,  Virginia.  The  character  of 
his  parents  had  no  doubt  a  sensible  influence  on  the 
destiny  of  their  distinguished  son.  His  father  had 
energy  and  enterprise,  combined  with  perseverance 
and  great  mental  determination.  His  mother  be- 
longed to  a  family  of  revolutionary  heroes.  Two 
of  her  brothers  were  distinguished  in  the  Eevolu- 
tion.  Their  names  and  achievements  are  not  left 
to  tradition,  but  constitute  a  part  of  the  history  of 
the  times. 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  born  in  the  Eevolution,  and  in 
his  childhood  felt  the  influence  of  its  exciting  tradi- 
tions. He  derived  from  the  paternal  stock,  intellect 
and  self-reliance,  and  from  the  Caldwell's,  enthusiasm 
and  impulse.  The  traditions  of  the  Eevolution  had 
a  sensible  influence  on  his  temper  and  character. 

Mr.  Calhoun,  in  his  childhood,  had  but  limited 
advantages  of  what  is  termed  a  literary  tuition.  His 
parents  lived  in  a  newly-settled  country,  and  among 
a  sparse  population.  This  population  had  but  a 
slight  connection  with  the  lower  country  of  South 
Carolina,  and  were  sustained  by  emigrants  from 
Virginia  and  Pennsylvania.  There  was,  of  course, 
but  limited  means  of  instruction  to  children.  They 
imbibed  most  of  their  lessons  from  the  conversation 
of  their  parents.  Mr.  Calhoun  has  always  express- 
ed himself  deeply  sensible  of  that  influence.  At 
the  age  of  thirteen  ne  was  put  under  the  charge  of 


9 

his  brother-in-law.  Dr.  Waddel,  in  Columbia  county, 
Georgia.  Scarcely  had  he  commenced  his  literary 
course  before  his  father  and  sister  died.  His  brother- 
in-law,  Dr.  Waddel,  devoted  himself  about  this  time 
to  his  clerical  duties,  and  was  a  great  deal  absent 
from  home. 

On  his  second  marriage,  he  resumed  the  duties  of 
his  academy;  and,  in  his  nineteenth  year,  Mr.  Cal- 
houn put  himself  under  the  charge  of  this  distin- 
guished teacher.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  his 
mind,  before  this,  had  been  unemployed.  He  had 
availed  himself  of  the  advantages  of  a  small  library, 
and  had  been  deeply  inspired  by  his  reading  of  his- 
tory. It  was  under  such  influences  that  he  entered 
the  academy  of  his  preceptor.  His  progress  was 
rapid.  He  looked  forward  to  a  higher  arena  with 
eagerness  and  purpose. 

He  became  a  student  in  Yale  College  in  1802,  and 
graduated  two  years  afterwards  with  distinction, 
as  a  young  man  of  great  ability,  and  with  the  re- 
spect and  confidence  of  his  preceptors  and  fellows. 
What  they  have  said  and  thought  of  him  would 
have  given  any  man  a  high  reputation.  It  is  the 
pure  fountain  of  a  clear  reputation.  If  the  stream 
has  met  with  obstructions,  they  were  such  as  have 
only  shown  its  beauty  and  majesty. 

After  he  had  graduated,  Mr.  Calhoun  studied 
law,  and  for  a  few  years  practiced  in  the  courts  of 
South  Carolina,  with  a  reputation  that  has  descend- 


10 

ed  to  the  profession.  He  was  then  remarkable  for 
some  traits  that  have  since  characterized  him.  He 
was  clear  in  his  propositions,  and  candid  in  his  in- 
tercourse with  his  brethren.  The  truth  and  justice 
of  the  law  inculcated  themselves  on  his  mind,  and 
when  armed  with  these,  he  was  a  great  advocate. 

His  forensic  career  was,  however,  too  limited  to 
make  a  prominent  part  in  the  history  of  his  life.  He 
served  for  some  years  in  the  Legislature  of  his  native 
State ;  and  his  great  mind  made  an  impression  on 
her  statutes,  some  of  which  have  had  a  great  prac- 
tical operation  on  the  concerns  of  society.  From 
the  Legislature  of  his  own  State  he  was  transferred 
to  Congress ;  and  from  that  time  his  career  has  been 
a  part  of  the  history  of  the  Federal  Government. 

Mr.  Calhoun  came  into  Congress  at  a  time  of 
deep  and  exciting  interest — at  a  crisis  of  great  mag- 
nitude. It  was  a  crisis  of  peril  to  those  who  had 
to  act  in  it,  but  of  subsequent  glory  to  the  actors 
and  the  common  history  of  the  country.  The  in- 
vincibility of  Great  Britain  had  become  a  proverbial 
expression,  and  a  war  with  her  was  full  of  terrific 
issues.  Mr.  Calhoun  found  himself  at  once  in  a 
situation  of  high  responsibility — one  that  required 
more  than  speaking  qualities  and  eloquence  to  fulfil 
it.  The  spirit  of  the  people  required  direction  ;  the 
energy  and  ardor  of  youth  were  to  be  employed  in 
affairs  requiring  the  maturer  qualities  of  a  statesman. 
The  part  which  Mr.  Calhoun  acted  at  this  time 


11 

has  been  approved  and  applauded  by  co temporaries, 
and  now  forms  a  part  of  the  glorious  history  of  those 
times. 

The  names  of  Clay,  Calhoun,  Cheyes,  and 
Lowndes,  Grundy,  Porter,  and  others,  carried  asso- 
ciations with  them  that  reached  the  heart  of  the  na- 
tion. Their  clarion  notes  penetrated  the  army,*  they 
animated  the  people,  and  sustained  the  Administra- 
tion of  the  Government.  With  such  actors,  and  in 
such  scenes — the  most  eventful  of  our  history — to 
say  that  Mr.  Calhoun  did  not  perform  a  second 
part,  is  no  common  praise.  In  debate  he  was  equal 
with  Randolph,  and  in  council  he  commanded  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  Madison.  At  this  period 
of  his  life  he  had  the  quality  of  Themistocles — to 
inspire  confidence — which,  after  all,  is  the  highest  of 
earthly  qualities  in  a  public  man ;  it  is  a  mystical 
something,  which  is  felt,  but  cannot  be  described. 

The  events  of  the  war  were  brilliant  and  honor- 
able to  both  statesmen  and  soldiers,  and  their  history 
may  be  read  with  enthusiasm  and  delight.  The 
war  terminated  with  honor ;  but  the  measures  which 
had  to  be  taken,  in  a  transition  to  a  peace  establish- 
ment, were  full  of  difficulty   and  embarrassment. 


*  Governor  Dodge  (now  a  senator  on  this  floor),  who  was  at  that 
time  a  gallant  officer  of  the  army,  informs  me  that  the  speeches  of 
Calhoun  and  Clay  were  publicly  read  to  the  army,  and  exerted  a 
most  decided  influence  on  the  spirits  of  the  men. 


12 

This  distinguished  statesman,  with  his  usual  intrepi- 
dity, did  not  hesitate  to  take  a  responsible  and  lead- 
ing part.    Under  the  influence  of  a  broad  patriotism, 
he  acted  with  an  uncalculating  liberality  to  all  the 
interests  that  were  involved,  and  which  were  brought 
under  review  of  Congress.     His  personal  adversary 
at  this  time,  in  his  admiration  for  his  genius,  paid 
Mr.  Calhoun  a  beautiful  compliment  for  his  noble 
and  national  sentiments,  and  views  of  policy.     The 
gentleman  to  whom  I  refer,  is  Mr.  Grosvenor,  of 
N.  Y.,  who  used  the  following  language  in  debate : — 
"  He  had  heard  with  peculiar  satisfaction    the 
able,  manly,  and  constitutional  speech  of  the  gen- 
tleman from  South  Carolina.      (Here  Mr.  Grosvenor 
recurring  in  his  own  mind  to  a  personal  difference 
with  Mr.  Calhoun,  which  arose  out  of  the  warm 
party  discussions  during  the  war,  paused  for  a  mo- 
ment, and  then  proceeded.) 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  I  will  not  be  restrained.  No  bar- 
rier shall  exist,  which  I  will  not  leap  over  for  the 
purpose  of  offering  to  that  gentleman  my  thanks 
for  the  judicious,  independent,  and  national  course 
which  he  has  pursued  in  this  House  for  the  last  two 
years,  and  particularly  on  the  subject  now  before  us. 
Let  the  honorable  gentleman  continue  with  the  same 
manly  independence,  aloof  from  party  views  and 
local  prejudices,  to  pursue  the  great  interests  of  his 
country,  and  to  fulfil  the  high  destiny  for  which  it 
is  manifest  he  was  born.     The  buzz  of  popular  ap- 


13 

plause  may  not  cheer  him  on  his  way,  but  he  will 
inevitably  arrive  at  a  high  and  happy  elevation  in 
the  view  of  his  country  and  the  world." 

At  the  termination  of  Mr.  Madison's  administra- 
tion, Mr.  Calhoun  had  acquired  a  commanding 
reputation;  he  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  sages  of  'I 
the  Republic.  In  1817,  Mr.  Monroe  invited  him  to 
a  place  in  his  Cabinet.  Mr.  Calhoun's  friends 
doubted  the  propriety  of  his  accepting  it,  and  some 
of  them  thought  he  would  put  a  high  reputation  at 
hazard  in  this  new  sphere  of  action.  Perhaps  these 
suggestions  fired  his  high  and  gifted  intellect;  he 
accepted  the  place,  and  went  into  the  War  Depart- 
ment under  circumstances  that  might  have  appalled 
other  men.  His  success  has  been  acknowledged. 
What  was  complex  and  confused,  he  reduced  to 
simplicity  and  order.  His  organization  of  the  War 
Department,  and  his  administration  of  its  undefined 
duties,  have  made  the  impression  of  an  author, 
having  the  interest  of  originality,  and  the  sanction 
of  trial. 

To  applicants  for  office,  Mr.  Calhoun  made  few 
promises,  and  hence  he  was  not  accused  of  delusion 
and  deception.  When  a  public  trust  was  involved, 
he  would  not  compromise  with  duplicity  or  tempo- 
rary expediency. 

At  the  expiration  of  Mr.  Monroe's  administration, 
Mr.  Calhoun's  name  became  connected  with  the 
Presidency ;  and  from  that  time  to  his  death  he  had 


14 

to  share  the  fate  of  all  others  who  occupy  prominent 
situations. 

The  remarkable  canvass  for  the  President  to  suc- 
ceed Mr.  Monroe,  terminated  in  returning  three  dis- 
tinguished men  to  the  House  of  Representatives, 
from  whom  one  was  to  be  elected.  Mr.  Calhoun 
was  elected  Vice  President  by  a  large  majority.  He 
took  his  seat  in  the  Senate,  as  Vice  President,  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1825,  having  remained  in  the 
War  Department  over  seven  years. 

While  he  was  Vice  President,  he  was  placed  in 
some  of  the  most  trying  scenes  of  any  man's  life.  I 
do  not  now  choose  to  refer  to  anything  that  can 
have  the  elements  of  controversy ;  but  I  hope  I  may 
be  permitted  to  speak  of  my  friend  and  colleague  in 
a  character  in  which  all  will  join  in  paying  him 
sincere  respect.  As  a  presiding  officer  of  this  body, 
he  had  the  undivided  respect  of  its  members.  He 
was  punctual,  methodical,  and  impartial,  and  had  a 
high  regard  for  the  dignity  of  the  Senate,  which,  as 
a  presiding  officer,  he  endeavored  to  preserve  and 
maintain.  He  looked  upon  debate  as  an  honorable 
contest  of  intellect  for  truth.  Such  a  strife  has  its 
incidents  and  its  trials;  but  Mr.  Calhoun  had,  in 
an  eminent  degree,  a  regard  for  parliamentary  dig- 
nity and  propriety. 

Upon  General  Hayne's  leaving  the  Senate  to 
become  Governor  of  South  Carolina,  Mr.  Calhoun 
resigned  the  Vice  Presidency,  and  was  elected  in 


15 

his  place.  All  will  now  agree  that  such  a  position 
was  environed  with  difficulties  and  dangers.  His 
own  State  was  under  the  ban,  and  he  was  in  the 
national  Senate  to  do  her  justice  under  his  consti- 
tutional obligations.  That  part  of  his  life  posterity 
will  review,  and,  I  am  confident,  will  do  it  full  and 
impartial  justice. 

After  his  senatorial  term  had  expired,  he  went 
into  retirement  by  his  own  consent.     The  death  of 
Mr.  Upshur — so  full  of  melancholy  associations — 
made  a  vacancy  in  the  State  Department;  and  it 
was  by  the  common  consent  of  all  parties  that  Mr. 
Calhoun  was  called  to  fill  it.     This  was  a  fribute  of 
which  any  public  man  might  well  be  proud.     It  was 
a  tribute  to  truth,  ability,  and  experience.     Under  T^ 
Mr.  Calhoun's  counsels,  Texas  was  brought  into 
the  Union.     His  name  is  associated  with  one  of  the   j 
most  remarkable  events  of  history — that  of  one  Re-  1 
public  being  annexed  to  another  by  the  voluntary  [ 
consent  of  both.     He  was  the  happy  agent  to  bring 
about  this  fraternal  association.     It  is  a  conjunction 
under  the  sanction  of  his  name,  and  by  an  influence 
exerted  through  his  great  and  intrepid  mind.     Mr. 
Calhoun's  connection  with  the  Executive  depart- 
ment  of    the    Government    terminated   with    Mr. 
Tyler's  administration.     As  a  Secretary  of  State,  he 
won  the  confidence  and  respect  of  foreign  ambassa- 
dors, and  his  dispatches  were  characterized  by  clear- 
ness, sagacity,  and  boldness. 


16 

He  was  not  allowed  to  remain  in  retirement  long. 
For  the  last  five  years  he  has  been  a  member  of 
this  body,  and  has  been  engaged  in  discussions  that 
have  deeply  excited  and  agitated  the  country.  He 
has  died  amidst  them.  I  had  never  had  any  par- 
ticular association  with  Mr.  Calhoun  until  I  be- 
came his  colleague  in  this  body.  I  had  looked  on 
his  fame  as  others  had  done,  and  had  admired  his 
character.  There  are  those  here  who  know  more 
of  him  than  I  do.  I  shall  not  pronounce  any  such 
judgment  as  may  be  subject  to  a  controversial 
criticism.  But  I  will  say,  as  a  matter  of  justice, 
from  my  own  personal  knowledge,  that  I  never 
knew  a  fairer  man  in  argument,  or  a  juster  man  in 
purpose.  His  intensity  allowed  of  little  compro- 
mise. While  he  did  not  qualify  his  own  positions 
to  suit  the  temper  of  the  times,  he  appreciated  the 
unmasked  propositions  of  others.  As  a  Senator,  he 
commanded  the  respect  of  the  ablest  men  of  the 
body  of  which  he  was  a  member ;  and  I  believe  I 
may  say  that,  where  there  was  no  political  bias  to 
influence  the  judgment,  he  had  the  confidence  of 
his  brethren.  As  a  statesman,  Mr.  Calhoun's  re- 
putation belongs  to  the  history  of  the  country,  and 
I  commit  it  to  his  countrymen  and  posterity. 

In  my  opinion,  Mr.  Calhoun  deserves  to  occupy 
the  first  rank  as  a  parliamentary  speaker.  He  had 
always  before  him  the  dignity  of  purpose,  and  he 
spoke  to  an  end.     From  a  full  mind,  fired  by  genius, 


17 

he  expressed  his  ideas  with  clearness,  simplicity,  and 
force ;  and  in  language  that  seemed  to  be  the  vehicle 
of  his  thoughts  and  emotions.  His  thoughts  leaped 
from  his  mind,  like  arrows  from  a  well-drawn  bow. 
They  had  both  the  aim  and  force  of  a  skillful 
archer.  He  seemed  to  have  had  little  regard  for 
ornament ;  and  when  he  used  figures  of  speech,  they 
were  only  for  illustration.  His  manner  and  coun- 
tenance were  his  best  language ;  and  in  these  there 
was  an  exemplification  of  what  is  meant  by  Action 
in  that  term  of  the  great  Athenian  orator  and 
statesman,  whom,  in  so  many  respects,  he  so  closely 
resembled.  They  served  to  exhibit  the  moral  ele- 
vation of  the  man. 

In  speaking  of  Mr.  Calhoun  as  a  man  and  a 
neighbor,  I  am  sure  I  may  speak  of  him  in  a  sphere 
in  which  all  will  love  to  contemplate  him.  Whilst 
he  was  a  gentleman  of  striking  deportment,  he  was 
a  man  of  primitive  taste  and  simple  manners.  He 
had  the  hardy  virtues  and  simple  tastes  of  a  repub- 
lican citizen.  No  one  disliked  ostentation  and  ex- 
hibition more  than  he  did.  When  I  say  he  was  a 
good  neighbor,  I  imply  more  than  I  have  expressed. 
It  is  summed  up  under  the  word  justice.  I  will 
J  venture  to  say,  that  no  one  in  his  private  relations 
could  ever  say  that  Mr.  Calhoun  treated  him  with 
injustice,  or  that  he  deceived  him  by  professions  or 
concealments.  His  private  character  was  illus- 
trated by  a  beautiful  propriety,  and  was  the  exem- 


18 

plification  of  truth,  justice,  temperance,  and  fidelity 
to  all  his  engagements. 

I  will  venture  another  remark.      Mr.  Calhoun 
was  fierce  in  his  contests  with  political  adversaries. 
He  did  not  stop  in  the  fight  to  count  losses  or  be- 
stow favors.     But  he  forgot  resentments,  and  for- 
gave injuries  inflicted  by  rivals,  with  signal  magna- 
nimity.    Whilst  he  spoke  freely  of  their  faults,  he 
could  with  justice  appreciate  the  merits  of  all  the 
public  men  of  whom  I  have  heard  him  speak.     He 
I  was  sincerely  attached  to  the  institutions  of  this 
1  country,  and  desired  to   preserve   them  pure  and 
Wake  them  perpetual. 

\  By  the  death  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  one  of  the  bright- 
est luminaries  has  been  extinguished  in  the  political 
firmament.  It  is  an  event  which  will  produce  a 
deep  sensation  throughout  this  broad  land,  and  the 
civilized  world. 

I  have  forborne  to  speak  of  his  domestic  rela- 
tions. They  make  a  sacred  circle,  and  I  will  not 
invade  it. 

Mr.  Butler  then  offered  the  following  resolutions : 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  by  the 
Vice  President  to  take  order  for  superintending  the  funeral  of  the 
Hon.  John  Caldwell  Calhoun,  which  will  take  place  to-morrow, 
at  12  o'clock  meridian,  and  that  the  Senate  will  attend  the  same. 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  the  members  of  the  Senate,  from  a 
sincere  desire  of  showing  every  mark  of  respect  due  to  the  memory 
of  the  Hon.  John  Caldwell  Calhoun,  deceased,  late  a  member 


19 


thereof,  will  go  into  mourning  for  him  for  one  month,  by  the  usual 
mode  of  wearing  crape  on  the  left  arm. 

Resolved  unanimously,  That;  as  an  additional  mark  of  respect  to 
the  memory  of  the  deceased,  the  Senate  do  now  adjourn. 


Mr.  Clay. — Mr.  President,  prompted  by  my  own 
feelings  of  profound  regret,  and  by  the  intimations 
of  some  highly  esteemed  friends,  I  wish,  in  rising  to 
second  the  resolutions  which  have  been  offered,  and 
which  have  just  been  read,  to  add  a  few  words  to 
what  has  been  so  well  and  so  justly  said  by  the  sur- 
viving colleague  of  the  illustrious  deceased. 

My  personal  acquaintance  with  him,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, commenced  upwards  of  thirty-eight  years  ago. 
We  entered  at  the  same  time,  together,  the  House 
of  Representatives  at  the  other  end  of  this  building. 
The  Congress,  of  which  we  thus  became  members, 
was  that  amongst  whose  deliberations  and  acts  was 
the  declaration  of  war  against  the  most  powerful 
nation,  as  it  respects  us,  in  the  world.  During  the 
preliminary  discussions  which  arose  in  the  prepara- 
tion for  that  great  event,  as  well  as  during  those 
which  took  place  when  the  resolution  was  finally 
adopted,  no  member  displayed  a  more  lively  and 
patriotic  sensibility  to  the  wrongs  which  led  to  that 
momentous  event  than  the  deceased  whose  death  we 
all  now  so  much  deplore.  Ever  active,  ardent,  able, 
no  one  was  in  advance  of  him  in  advocating  the 
cause  of  his  country,  and  denouncing  the  foreign 


20 

injustice  which  compelled  us  to  appeal  to  arms.  Of 
all  the  Congresses  with  which  I  have  had  any  ac- 
quaintance since  my  entry  into  the  service  of  the 
Federal  Government,  in  none,  in  my  humble  opinion, 
has  been  assembled  such  a  galaxy  of  eminent  and 
able  men  as  were  in  the  House  of  Kepresentatives 
of  that  Congress  which  declared  the  war,  and  in  that 
immediately  following  the  peace ;  and,  amongst  that 
splendid  constellation,  none  shone  more  bright  and 
brilliant  than  the  star  which  is  now  set. 

It  was  my  happiness,  sir,  during  a  large  part  of 
the  life  of  the  departed,  to  concur  with  him  on  all 
great  questions  of  national  policy.  And,  at  a  later 
period,  when  it  was  my  fortune  to  differ  from  him 
as  to  measures  of  domestic  policy,  I  had  the  happi- 
ness to  agree  with  him  generally  as  to  those  which 
concerned  our  foreign  relations,  and  especially  as  to 
the  preservation  of  the  peace  of  the  country.  During 
the  long  session  at  which  the  war  was  declared,  we 
were  messmates,  as  were  other  distinguished  mem- 
bers of  Congress  from  his  own  patriotic  State.  I 
was  afforded,  by  the  intercourse  which  resulted  from 
that  fact,  as  well  as  the  subsequent  intimacy  and 
intercourse  which  arose  between  us,  an  opportunity 
to  form  an  estimate,  not  merely  of  his  public,  but  of 
his  private  life ;  and  no  man  with  whom  I  have  ever 
been  acquainted,  exceeded  him  in  habits  of  temper- 
ance and  regularity,  and  in  all  the  freedom,  frank- 
ness, and  affability  of  social  intercourse,  and  in  all 


21 

the  tenderness,  and  respect,  and  affection,  which  he 
manifested  towards  that  lady  who  now  mourns  more 
than  any  other  the  sad  event  which  has  just  occurred. 
Such,  Mr.  President,  was  the  high  estimate  I  formed 
of  his  transcendent  talents,  that,  if  at  the  end  of  his 
service  in  the  executive  department,  under  Mr. 
Monroe's  administration,  the  duties  of  which  he  per- 
formed with  such  signal  ability,  he  had  been  called 
to  the  highest  office  in  the  Government,  I  should 
have  felt  perfectly  assured  that  under  his  auspices, 
the  honor,  the  prosperity,  and  the  glory  of  our  coun- 
try would  have  been  safely  placed. 

Sir,  he  has  gone !  No  more  shall  we  witness  from 
yonder  seat  the  flashes  of  that  keen  and  penetrating 
eye  of  his,  darting  through  this  chamber.  No  more 
shall  we  be  thrilled  by  that  torrent  of  clear,  concise, 
compact  logic,  poured  out  from  his  lips,  which,  if  it 
did  not  always  carry  conviction  to  our  judgment, 
always  commanded  our  great  admiration.  Those 
eyes  and  those  lips  are  closed  forever ! 

And  when,  Mr.  President,  will  that  great  vacancy 
which  has  been  created  by  the  event  to  which  we 
are  now  alluding,  when  will  it  be  filled  by  an  equal 
amount  of  ability,  patriotism,  and  devotion,  to  what 
he  conceived  to  be  the  best  interests  of  his  country  ? 

Sir,  this  is  not  the  appropriate  occasion,  nor  would 
I  be  the  appropriate  person  to  attempt  a  delineation 
of  his  character,  or  the  powers  of  his  enlightened 
mind.     I  will  only  say,  in  a  few  words,  that  he 


22 

possessed  an  elevated  genius  of  the  highest  order; 
that  in  felicity  of  generalization  of  the  subjects  of 
which  his  mind  treated,  I  have  seen  him  surpassed 
by  no  one ;  and  the  charm  and  captivating  influence 
of  his  colloquial  powers  have  been  felt  by  all  who 
have  conversed  with  him.  I  was  his  senior,  Mr. 
President,  in  years — in  nothing  else.  According  to 
the  course  of  nature,  I  ought  to  have  preceded  him. 
It  has  been  decreed  otherwise ;  but  I  know  that  I 
shall  linger  here  only  a  short  time  and  shall  soon 
follow  him. 

And  how  brief,  how  short  is  the  period  of  human 
existence  allotted  even  to  the  youngest  amongst  us  ! 
Sir,  ought  we  not  to  profit  by  the  contemplation  of 
this  melancholy  occasion?  Ought  we  not  to  draw 
from  it  the  conclusion  how  unwise  it  is  to  indulge 
in  the  acerbity  of  unbridled  debate?  How  unwise 
to  yield  ourselves  to  the  sway  of  the  animosities 
of  party  feeling?  How  wrong  it  is  to  indulge  in 
those  unhappy  and  hot  strifes  which  too  often  exas- 
perate our  feelings  and  mislead  our  judgments  in 
the  discharge  of  the  high  and  responsible  duties 
which  we  are  called  to  perform  ?  How  unbecoming, 
if  not  presumptuous,  it  is  in  us,  who  are  the  tenants 
of  an  hour  in  this  earthly  abode,  to  wrestle  and 
struggle  together  with  a  violence  which  would  not 
be  justifiable  if  it  were  our  perpetual  home! 

In  conclusion,  sir,  while  I  beg  leave  to  express 
my  cordial  sympathies  and  sentiments  of  the  deep- 


23 

est  condolence  towards  all  who  stand  in  near  relation 
to  him,  I  trust  we  shall  all  be  instructed  by  the 
eminent  virtues  and  merits  of  his  exalted  character, 
and  be  taught  by  his  bright  example  to  fulfill  our 
great  public  duties  by  the  lights  of  our  own  judg- 
ment and  the  dictates  of  our  own  consciences,  as  he 
did,  according  to  his  honest  and  best  comprehension 
of  those  duties,  faithfully  and  to  the  last. 

Mr.  Webster. — I  hope  the  Senate  will  indulge 
me-  in  adding  a  very  few  words  to  what  has  been 
said.  My  apology  for  this  presumption  is  the  very 
long  acquaintance  which  has  subsisted  between  Mr. 
Calhoun  and  myself.  We  are  of  the  same  age.  I 
made  my  first  entrance  into  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives in  May,  1813,  and  there  found  Mr.  Cal- 
houn. He  had  already  been  in  that  body  for  two 
or  three  years.  I  found  him  then  an  active  and 
efficient  member  of  the  assembly  to  which  he  be- 
longed, taking  a  decided  part,  and  exercising  a 
decided  influence,  in  all  its  deliberations. 

From  that  day  to  the  day  of  his  death,  amidst  all 
the  strifes  of  party  and  politics,  there  has  subsisted 
between  us,  always,  and  without  interruption,  a 
great  degree  of  personal  kindness. 

Differing  widely  on  many  great  questions  respect- 
ing the  institutions  and  government  of  the  country, 
those  differences  never  interrupted  our  personal  and 
social  intercourse.     I  have  been  present  at  most  of 


24 

the  distinguished  instances  of  the  exhibition  of  his 
talents  in  debate.  I  have  always  heard  him  with 
pleasure,  often  with  much  instruction,  not  unfre- 
quently  with  the  highest  degree  of  admiration. 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  calculated  to  be  a  leader  in 
whatsoever  association  of  political  friends  he  was 
thrown.  He  was  a  man  of  undoubted  genius,  and 
of  commanding  talent.  All  the  country  and  all  the 
world  admit  that.  His  mind  was  both  perceptive 
and  vigorous.     It  was  clear,  quick,  and  strong. 

Sir,  the  eloquence  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  or  the  manner 
of  his  exhibition  of  his  sentiments  in  public  bodies, 
was  part  of  his  intellectual  character.  It  grew  out 
of  the  qualities  of  his  mind.  It  was  plain,  strong, 
terse,  condensed,  concise;  sometimes  impassioned — 
still  always  severe.  Rejecting  ornament,  not  often 
seeking  far  for  illustration,  his  power  consisted  in 
the  plainness  of  his  propositions,  in  the  closeness  of 
his  logic,  and  in  the  earnestness  and  energy  of  his 
manner.  These  are  the  qualities,  as  I  think,  which 
have  enabled  him  through  such  a  long  course  of 
years  to  speak  often,  and  yet  always  command  at- 
tention. His  demeanor  as  a  Senator  is  known  to 
us  all — is  appreciated,  venerated  by  us  all.  No 
man  was  more  respectful  to  others;  no  man  carried 
himself  with  greater  decorum,  no  man  with  superior 
dignity.  I  think  there  is  not  one  of  us  but  felt 
when  he  last  addressed  us  from  his  seat  in  the 
Senate,   his  form   still  erect,  with   a  voice  by   no 


25 

means  indicating  such  a  degree  of  physical  weakness 
as  did,  in  fact,  possess  him,  with  clear  tones,  and  an 
impressive,  and,  I  may  say,  an  imposing  manner, 
who  did  not  feel  that  he  might  imagine  that  we  saw 
before  us  a  Senator  of  Rome,  when  Rome  survived. 

Sir,  I  have  not  in  public  nor  in  private  life, 
known  a  more  assiduous  person  in  the  discharge  of 
his  appropriate  duties.  I  have  known  no  man  who 
wasted  less  of  life  in  what  is  called  recreation,  or 
employed  less  of  it  in  any  pursuits  not  connected  with 
the  immediate  discharge  of  his  duty.  He  seemed  to 
have  no  recreation  but  the  pleasure  of  conversation 
with  his  friends.  Out  of  the  chambers  of  Congress, 
he  was  either  devoting  himself  to  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge  pertaining  to  the  immediate  subject  of 
the  duty  before  him,  or  else  he  was  indulging  in 
those  social  interviews  in  which  he  so  much  de- 
lighted. 

My  honorable  friend  from  Kentucky  has  spoken 
in  just  terms  of  his  colloquial  talents.  They  cer- 
tainly were  singular  and  eminent.  There  was  a 
charm  in  his  conversation  not  often  found.  He 
delighted,  especially,  in  conversation  and  intercourse 
with  young  men.  I  suppose  that  there  has  been  no 
man  among  us  who  had  more  winning  manners,  in 
such  an  intercourse  and  conversation,  with  men 
comparatively  young,  than  Mr.  Calhoun.  I  believe 
one  great  power  of  his  character,  in  general,  was  his 
conversational  talent.     I  believe  it  is  that,  as  well 


26 

as  a  consciousness  of  his  high  integrity,  and  the 
greatest  reverence  for  his  intellect  and  ability,  that 
has  made  him  so  endeared  an  object  to  the  people  of 
the  State  to  which  he  belonged. 

Mr.  President,  he  had  the  basis,  the  indispensable 
basis,  of  all  high  character;  and  that  was,  unspotted 
integrity — unimpeached  honor  and  character.  If 
he  had  aspirations,  they  were  high,  and  honorable, 
and  noble.  There  was  nothing  groveling,  or  low, 
or  meanly  selfish,  that  came  near  the  head  or  the 
heart  of  Mr.  Calhoun.  Firm  in  his  purpose,  per- 
fectly patriotic  and  honest,  as  I  am  sure  he  was,  in 
the  principles  that  he  espoused,  and  in  the  measures 
that  he  defended,  aside  from  that  large  regard  for 
that  species  of  distinction  that  conducted  him  to 
eminent  stations  for  the  benefit  of  the  republic,  I 
do  not  believe  he  had  a  selfish  motive,  or  selfish 
feeling. 

However,  sir,  he  may  have  differed  from  others  of 
us  in  his  political  opinions,  or  his  political  princi- 
ples, those  principles  and  those  opinions  will  now 
descend  to  posterity  under  the  sanction  of  a  great 
name.  He  has  lived  long  enough,  he  has  done 
enough,  and  he  has  done  it  so  well,  so  successfully, 
so  honorably,  as  to  connect  himself  for  all  time  with 
the  records  of  his  country.  He  is  now  a  historical 
character.  Those  of  us  who  have  known  him  here, 
will  find  that  he  has  left  upon  our  minds  and  our 
hearts  a  strong  and  lasting  impression  of  his  person, 


27 

his  character,  and  his  public  performances,  which, 
while  we  live,  will  never  be  obliterated.  We  shall 
hereafter,  I  am  sure,  indulge  in  it  as  a  grateful  re- 
collection that  we  have  lived  in  his  age,  that  we 
have  been  his  cotemporaries,  that  we  have  seen 
him,  and  heard  him,  and  known  him.  We  shall 
delight  to  speak  of  him  to  those  who  are  rising  up 
to  fill  our  places.  And,  when  the  time  shall  come 
when  we  ourselves  shall  go,  one  after  another,  in 
succession,  to  our  graves,  we  shall  carry  with  us  a 
deep  sense  of  his  genius  and  character,  his  honor 
and  integrity,  his  amiable  deportment  in  private  life, 
and  the  purity  of  his  exalted  patriotism. 

Mr.  Rusk. — Mr.  President:  I  hope  it  will  not 
be  considered  inappropriate  for  me  to  say  a  word 
upon  this  solemn  occasion.  Being  a  native  of  the 
same  State  with  the  distinguished  Senator  whose 
death  has  cast  such  a  gloom  upon  this  Senate  and 
the  audience  here  assembled,  I  had  the  good  for- 
tune, at  an  early  period  of  my  life,  to  make  his 
acquaintance.  At  that  time  he  was  just  entering 
on  that  bright  career  which  has  now  terminated. 
I  was  then  a  boy,  with  prospects  anything  but 
flattering.  To  him,  at  that  period,  I  was  indebted 
for  words  of  kindness  and  encouragement;  and 
often  since,  in  the  most  critical  positions  in  which 
I  have  been  placed,  a  recurrence  to  those  words  of 
encouragement  has  inspired  me  with  resolution  to 


28 

meet  difficulties  that  beset  my  path.  Four  years 
ago,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  renewing  that  acquaint- 
ance, after  an  absence  of  some  fifteen  years ;  and 
this  took  place  after  he  had  taken  an  active  part  in 
the  question  of  annexing  Texas  to  the  United 
States,  adding  a  new  sense  of  obligation  to  my 
feeling  of  gratitude. 

In  the  stirring  questions  that  have  agitated  the 
country,  it  was  my  misfortune  sometimes  to  differ 
from  him,  but  it  is  a  matter  of  heartfelt  gratifica- 
tion for  me  to  know  that  our  personal  relations  re- 
mained unaltered.  And,  sir,  it  will  be  a  source  of 
pleasant  though  sad  reflection  to  me  throughout 
life  to  remember,  that  on  the  last  day  on  which  he 
occupied  his  seat  in  this  chamber,  his  body  worn 
down  by  disease,  but  his  mind  as  vigorous  as  ever, 
we  held  a  somewhat  extended  conversation  on  the 
exciting  topics  of  the  day,  in  which  the  same  kind 
feelings,  which  had  so  strongly  impressed  me  in 
youth,  were  still  manifested  toward  me  by  the 
veteran  statesman.  But,  sir,  he  is  gone  from  among 
us;  his  voice  will  never  again  be  heard  in  this 
chamber;  his  active  and  vigorous  mind  will  partici- 
pate no  more  in  our  councils;  his  spirit  has  left  a 
world  of  trouble,  care,  and  anxiety,  to  join  the 
spirits  of  those  patriots  and  statesmen  who  have 
preceded  him  to  a  brighter  and  better  world.  If, 
as  many  believe,  the  spirits  of  the  departed  hover 
around  the  places  they  have  left,  I  earnestly  pray 


29 

that  his  may  soon  be  permitted  to  look  back  upon 
our  country,  which  he  has  left  in  excitement,  con- 
fusion, and  apprehension,  restored  to  calmness,  se- 
curity, and  fraternal  feeling  as  broad  as  the  bounds 
of  our  Union,  and  as  fixed  as  the  eternal  principles  of 
justice  in  which  our  Government  has  its  foundation. 

Mr.  Clemens. — I  do  not  expect,  Mr.  President,  to 
add  anything  to  what  has  already  been  said  of  the 
illustrious  man,  whose  death  we  all  so  deeply  de- 
plore; but  silence  upon  an  occasion  like  this,  would 
by  no  means  meet  the  expectations  of  those  whose 
representative  I  am.  To  borrow  a  figure  from  the 
Senator  from  Kentucky,  the  brightest  star  in  the 
brilliant  galaxy  of  the  Union  has  gone  out,  and 
Alabama  claims  a  place  among  the  chief  mourners 
over  the  event.  Differing  often  from  the^  great 
Southern  statesman  on  questions  of  public  policy, 
she  has  yet  always  accorded  due  homage  to  his 
genius,  and  still  more  to  that  blameless  purity  of 
life  which  entitles  him  to  the  highest  and  the  no- 
blest epitaph  which  can  be  graven  upon  a  mortal 
tomb.  For  more  than  forty  years  an  active  parti- 
cipant in  all  the  fierce  struggles  of  party,  and  sur- 
rounded by  those  corrupting  influences  to  which  the 
politician  is  so  often  subjected,  his  personal  character 
remained  not  only  untarnished,  but  unsuspected. 
He  walked  through  the  flames,  and  even  the  hem 
of  his  garment  was  unscorched. 


30 

It  is  no  part  of  my  purpose  to  enter  into  a  recital 
of  the  public  acts  of  John  C.  Calhoun.  It  has  al- 
ready been  partly  done  by  his  colleague ;  but,  even 
that,  in  my  judgment,  was  unnecessary.  Years  after 
the  celebrated  battle  of  Thermopylae,  a  traveler,  on 
visiting  the  spot,  found  a  monument  with  the  simple 
inscription,  "  Stranger,  go  tell  at  Lacedaemon  that 
we  died  in  obedience  to  her  laws."  u  Why  is  it,"  he 
asked,  "that  the  names  of  those  who  fell  here  are 
not  inscribed  on  the  stone?"  "Because,"  was  the 
proud  reply,  "it  is  impossible  that  any  Greek  should 
ever  forget  them."  Even  so  it  is  with  him  of  whom 
I  speak.  His  acts  are  graven  on  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen,  and  time  has  no  power  to  obliterate  the 
characters.     Throughout  this  broad  land 

"  The  meanest  rill,  the  mightiest  river, 
Rolls  mingling  with  his  fame  forever." 

Living,  sir,  in  an  age  distinguished  above  all  others 
for  its  intelligence,  surrounded  throughout  his  whole 
career  by  men,  any  one  of  whom  would  have  marked 
an  era  in  the  world's  history,  and  stamped  the  time 
in  which  he  lived  with  immortality,  Mr.  Calhoun 
yet  won  an  intellectual  eminence,  and  commanded 
an  admiration  not  only  unsurpassed  but  unequaled, 
in  all  its  parts,  by  any  of  his  giant  compeers.  That 
great  light  is  now  extinguished;  a  place  in  this 
Senate  is  made  vacant  which  cannot  be  filled.  The 
sad  tidings  have  been  borne  upon  the  lightning's 


31 

wing  to  the  remotest  corners  of  the  Republic,  and 
millions  of  freemen  are  now  mourning  with  us  over 
all  that  is  left  of  one  who  was  scarcely  "lower  than 
the  angels." 

I  may  be  permitted,  Mr.  President,  to  express  my 
gratification  at  what  we  have  heard  and  witnessed 
this  day.  Kentucky  has  been  heard  through  the 
lips  of  one,  who  is  not  only  her  greatest  statesman, 
but  the  world's  greatest  living  orator.  The  great 
expounder  of  the  constitution,  whose  massive  intel- 
lect seems  to  comprehend  and  give  clearness  to  all 
things  beneath  the  sun,  has  spoken  for  the  Common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts.  From  every  quarter  the 
voice  of  mourning  is  mingled  with  notes  of  the 
highest  admiration.  These  crowded  galleries,  the 
distinguished  gentlemen  who  fill  this  floor,  all 
indicate  that  here  have 

u  Bards,  artists,  sages,  reverently  met, 
To  waive  each  separating  plea 
Of  sect,  clime,  party,  and  degree, 
All  honoring  him  on  whom  nature  all  honor  shed." 

The  resolutions  were  then  unanimously  adopted. 


IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Tuesday,  April  2,  1850. 

The  remains  of  the  deceased  were  brought  into  the  Senate  at  12 
o'clock,  attended  by  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  and  the  Pall- 
bearers. 


Committee  of  Arrangements. 


Mr.  MASON, 

Mr.  DAVIS,  of  Miss., 

Mr.  ATCHISON, 


Mr.  DODGE,  of  Wisconsin, 
Mr.  DICKINSON, 
Mr.  GREENE. 


Mr.  MANGUM, 
Mr.  CLAY, 
Mr.  WEBSTER, 


Pall-Bearers. 

Mr.  CASS, 
Mr.  KING, 
Mr.  BERRIEN. 


A    SERMON 

PREACHED  IN  THE  SENATE  CHAMBER, 

APRIL  2,  1850, 

AT  THE  FUNERAL  OF  THE 

HON.    JOHN    C.    CALHOUN, 

SENATOR    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES   FROM   SOUTH   CAROLINA. 

BY  THE  REV.  C.  M.  BUTLER,  D.  D., 


CHAPLAIN  OF  THE  SENATE. 


I  have  said  ye  are  gods,  and  all  of  you  are  children  of  the  Most 
High ;  but  ye  shall  die  like  men,  and  fall  like  one  of  the  princes. — 
Psalm  lxxxii.  6,  7. 

One  of  the  princes  is  fallen  !  A  prince  in  intel- 
lect ;  a  prince  in  his  sway  over  human  hearts  and 
minds  ;  a  prince  in  the  wealth  of  his  own  generous 
affections,  and  in  the  rich  revenues  of  admiring  love 
poured  into  his  heart ;  a  prince  in  the  dignity  of 
his  demeanor — this  prince  has  fallen — fallen  ! 

And  ye  all,  his  friends  and  peers,  illustrious 
statesmen,  orators,  and  warriors — "  I  have  said  ye 
are  gods,  and  all  of  you  are  children  of  the  Most 
High  ;  hut  ye  shall  die  like  men,  and  fall  like  this 
one  of  the  princes  !" 

The  praises  of  the  honored  dead  have  been,  here 

I : 


34 

and  elsewhere,  fitly  spoken.  The  beautifully  blend- 
ed benignity,  dignity,  simplicity,  and  purity  of  the 
husband,  the  father,  and  the  friend;  the  integrity, 
sagacity,  and  energy  of  the  statesman;  the  com- 
pressed in  tenseness,  the  direct  and  rapid  logic  of 
the  orator ;  all  these  have  been  vividly  portrayed 
by  those  who  themselves  illustrate  what  they  de- 
scribe. There  seem  still  to  linger  around  this  hall 
echoes  of  the  voices,  which  have  so  faithfully  sketched 
the  life,  so  happily  discriminated  the  powers,  and  so 
affectionately  eulogized  the  virtues  of  the  departed, 
that  the  muse  of  history  will  note  down  the  words, 
as  the  outline  of  her  future  lofty  narrative,  her  nice 
analysis,  and  her  glowing  praise. 

But  the  echo  of  those  eulogies  dies  away.  All 
that  was  mortal  of  their  honored  object  lies  here 
unconscious,  in  the  theatre  of  his  glory.  "  Lord  of 
the  lion  heart  and  eagle  eye" — there  he  lies !  that 
strong  heart  still,  that  bright  eye  dim !  Another 
voice  claims  your  ear.  The  minister  of  God,  stand- 
ing over  the  dead,  is  sent  to  say — "  Ye  are  gods, 
and  all  of  you  are  children  of  the  Most  High;  but 
ye  shall  die  like  men,  and  fall  like  one  of  the 
princes."  He  is  sent  to  remind  you  that  there  are 
those  here,  not  visible  to  the  eye  of  sense,  who  are 
greater  than  the  greatest  of  ye  all — even  Death,  and 
Death's  Lord  and  Master. 

Death  is  here.    I  see  him  stand  over  his  prostrate 
victim,  and  grimly  smile,  and  shake  at  us  his  unsated 


35 

spear,  and  bid  us  all  attend  this  day  on  him.  He 
is  King  to-day,  and  leads  us  all  captive  in  his  train, 
to  swell  his  triumph  and  proclaim  his  power.  And 
there  is  no  visitant  that  can  stand  before  the  soul  of 
man,  with  such  claims  on  his  awed,  intent,  and 
teachable  attention.  When,  as  on  a  day,  and  in  a 
scene  like  this,  he  holds  us  in  his  presence  and  bids 
us  hear  him — who  can  dare  to  disregard  his  man- 
date ?  Oh,  there  is  no  thought  or  fact,  having  re- 
ference to  this  brief  scene  of  things,  however  it  may 
come  with  a  port  and  tone  of  dignity  and  power, 
which  does  not  dwindle  into  meanness,  in  the  presence 
of  that  great  thought,  that  great  fact,  which  has 
entered  and  darkened  the  Capitol  to-day — Death  ! 
To  make  us  see  that  by  a  law  perfectly  inevitable 
and  irresistible,  soul  and  body  are  soon  to  separate ; 
that  this  busy  scene  of  earth  is  to  be  suddenly  and  for- 
ever left ;  that  this  human  heart  is  to  break  through 
the  circle  of  warm,  congenial,  familiar  and  fostering 
sympathies  and  associations,  and  to  put  off,  all  alone, 
into  the  silent  dark — this  is  the  object  of  the  dread 
message  to  us  of  death.  And  as  that  message  is 
spoken  to  a  soul  which  is  conscious  of  sin ;  which 
knows  that  it  has  not  within  itself  resources  for  self- 
purification,  and  self-sustaining  peace  and  joy ;  which 
realizes,  in  the  very  core  of  its  conscience,  retribu- 
tion as  a  moral  law ;  it  comes  fraught  with  the  un- 
rest, which  causes  it  to  be  at  once  dismissed,  or  which 
lodges  it  in  the  soul,  a  visitant  whose  first  coming  is 


gloom,  but  whose  continued  presence  shall  be  glory. 
Then  the  anxious  spirit,  peering  out  with  intense 
earnestness  into  the  dark  unknown,  may,  in  vain, 
question  earth  of  the  destiny  of  the  soul,  and  lift  to 
heaven  the  passionate  invocation — 

"  Answer  me,  burning  stars  of  night, 
Where  hath  the  spirit  gone  ; 
Which,  past  the  reach  of  mortal  sight, 
E'en  as  a  breeze  hath  flown  f" 

And  the  stars  answer  him,  "  We  roll 

In  pomp  and  power  on  high ; 
But  of  the  never  dying  soul, 

Ask  things  that  cannot  die  l" 

"  Things  that  cannot  die !"  God  only  can  tell  us 
of  the  spirit-world.  He  assures  us,  by  his  Son,  that 
death  is  the  child  of  sin.  He  tells  us  what  is  the 
power  of  this  king  of  terrors.  He  shows  us  that  in 
sinning  "  Adam  all  die."  He  declares  to  us  that, 
sinful  by  nature  and  by  practice,  we  are  condemned 
to  death ;  that  we  are  consigned  to  wo ;  that  we  are 
unfit  for  Heaven;  that  the  condition  of  the  soul 
which  remains  thus  condemned  and  unchanged,  is  far 
drearier  and  more  dreadful  beyond,  than  this  side, 
the  grave.  No  wonder  that  men  shrink  from  con- 
verse with  death;  for  all  his  messages  are  woful 
and  appalling. 

But,  thanks  be  to  God!  though  death  be  here, 
so  also  is  death's  Lord  and  Master.     "As  in  Adam 


37 

all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive." 
That  Saviour,  Christ,  assures  us  that  all  who  repent, 
and  forsake  their  sins,  and  believe  in  him,  and  live 
to  him,  shall  rise  to  a  life  glorious  and  eternal,  with 
Him  and  His,  in  Heaven.  He  tells  us  that  if  we 
are  his,  those  sharp  shafts  which  death  rattles  in 
our  ears  to-day,  shall  but  transfix,  and  only  for  a 
season,  the  garment  of  our  mortality ;  and  that  the 
emancipated  spirits  of  the  righteous  shall  be  borne, 
on  angel  wings,  to  that  peaceful  paradise  where  they 
shall  enjoy  perpetual  rest  and  felicity.  Then  it 
need  not  be  a  gloomy  message  which  we  deliver  to 
you  to-day,  that  "  ye  shall  die  as  men  and  fall  like 
one  of  the  princes ;"  for  it  tells  us  that  the  humblest 
of  men  may  be  made  equal  to  the  angels;  and  that 
earth's  princes  may  become  "kings  and  priests 
unto  God!" 

In  the  presence  of  these  simplest  yet  grandest 
truths;  with  these  thoughts  of  death  and  the  con- 
queror of  death ;  with  this  splendid  trophy  of  his 
power  proudly  held  up  to  our  view  by  death,  I 
need  utter  to  you  no  commonplace  on  the  vanity 
of  our  mortal  life,  the  inevitableness  of  its  termina- 
tion, and  the  solemnities  of  our  after-being.  Here 
and  now,  on  this  theme,  the  silent  dead  is  preach- 
ing to  you  more  impressively  than  could  the  most 
eloquent  of  the  living.  You  feel  now,  in  your  in- 
most heart,  that  that  great  upper  range  of  things 
with  which  you  are  connected  as  immortals;  that 


38 

moral  administration  of  God,  who  stretches  over  the 
infinite  of  existence;  that  magnificent  system  of 
ordered  governments,  to  whose  lower  circle  we  now 
belong,  which  consists  of  thrones,  dominions,  prin- 
cipalities, and  powers,  which  rise, 

"  Orb  o'er  orb,  and  height  o'er  height/' 

to  the  enthroned  Supreme ; — you  feel  that  this,  your 
high  relation  to  the  Infinite  and  Eternal,  makes  poor 
and  low  the  most  august  and  imposing  scenes  and 
dignities  of  earth,  which  flit,  like  shadows,  through 
your  three-score  years  and  ten.  Oh  happy  will  it 
be,  if  the  vivid  sentiment  of  the  hour  become  the 
actuating  conviction  of  the  life !  Happy  will  it  be, 
if  it  take  its  place  in  the  centre  of  the  soul,  and  in- 
form all  its  thoughts,  feelings,  principles,  and  aims! 
Then  shall  this  lower  system  of  human  things  be 
consciously  linked  to,  and  become  part  of,  and  take 
glory  from  that  spiritual  sphere,  which,  all  unseen, 
encloses  us,  whose  actors  and  heroes  are  "angels  and 
archangels,  and  all  the  company  of  heaven."  Then 
would  that  be  permanently  and  habitually  felt  by 
all,  which  was  here,  and  in  the  other  chamber  yester- 
day so  eloquently  expressed,  that  "  vain  are  the  per- 
sonal strifes  and  party  contests  in  which  you  daily 
engage,  in  view  of  the  great  account  which  you  may 
all  so  soon  be  called  upon  to  render;"*  and  that  "it 

*  Mr.  Winthrop's  speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 


39 

is  unbecoming  and  presumptuous  in  those  who  are 
the  tenants  of  an  hour  in  this  earthly  abode,  to 
wrestle  and  struggle  together  with  a  violence  which 
would  not  be  justifiable  if  it  were  your  perpetual 
home."*  Then,  as  we  see  to-day,  the  sister  States, 
by  their  Eepresentatives,  linked  hand  in  hand,  in 
mournful  attitude,  around  the  bier  of  one  in  whose 
fame  they  all  claim  a  share,  we  should  look  upon 
you  as  engaged  in  a  sacrament  of  religious  patriotism, 
whose  spontaneous,  unpremeditated  vow,  springing 
consentient  from  all  your  hearts,  and  going  up 
unitedly  to  heaven,  would  be — "  Liberty  and  Union, 
now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable !" 

But  I  must  no  longer  detain  you.     May  we  all 

"So  live,  that  when  our  summons  comes  to  join 
The  innumerable  caravan,  that  moves 
To  that  mysterious  realm,  where  each  shall  take 
His  chamber  in  the  silent  halls  of  death, 
"We  go  not  like  the  quarry-slave  at  night 
Scourged  to  his  dungeon,  but,  sustained  and  soothed 
By  an  unfaltering  trust,  approach  our  grave 
Like  one  who  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams." 


I  1 


&  THE 


DEATH  AND  FUNERAL  CEREMONIES 

I 

yr 

I 

£  OP 

I 

I 

|J0HN  CALDWELL  CALHOUN, 


£  CONTAINING 

T 


I 


THE  SPEECHES,  REPORTS  AND  OTHER  DOCUMENTS     J 
I  CONNECTED  THEREWITH, 


THE 


I 


ORATION  OF  THE  HON.  R.  B,  RHETT, 

BEFORE  THE  LEGISLATURE 

(fee.  &c. 

PUBLISHED  BY  ORDER  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE. 


I 


COLUMBIA,  S.  C.  | 

PRINTED  BY  A.  S.  JOHNSTON. 

I 


1850. 


2>ouTh    C-a^o^Lria.   Qr^v?e-Y 


THE 


DEATH  AND  FUNERAL  CEREMONIES 


OP 


JOHN  CALDWELL  CALHOUN 


CONTAINING 


THE  SPEECHES,  REPORTS,  AND  OTHER  DOCUMENTS 
CONNECTED  THEREWITH, 


THE 


ORATION  OF  THE  HON.  R.  B.  EHETT, 

BEFORE  THE  LEGISLATURE, 

&c.  &c. 


PUBLISHED  BY  ORDER  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE; 


COLUMBIA,  S.  C. 

PRINTED  BY   A.  S.  JOHNSTON. 


1850. 


CONTENTS. 


Message  of  the  Governor  of  South  Carolina  to  the  Legislature, 

concerning  the  death  of  Mr.  Calhoun 1 

Proceedings  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 9 

Mr.  Butler's  Speech ,.  9 

Mr.  Clay's  Speech... - 18 

Mr.  Webster's  Speech 21 

Mr.  Rusk's  Speech. ._ 24 

Mr.  Clemens' s  Speech . 25 

Sermon,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Butler 28 

Mr.  Holmes's  Speech,  in  the  House  of  Representatives 36 

Mr.  Winthrop's  Speech 47 

Mr.  Venable's  Speech 50 

Report  of  D.  Ravemel.  Esq.  Chairman  of  Committee  of  Twenty- 
Five---  - - -..  55 

Programe  of  Proceedings  in  Washington 73 

Passage  through  Fredericksburg 74 

Proceeding  at  Richmond . 75 

Proceedings  at  Petersburg 78 

Proceedings  at  Wilmington 81 

Minutes  of  the  Final  Meeting  of  the  Committee  of  Twenty-five.  82 

Narrative  of  proceedings  in  Charleston  by  the  Mayor -  86 

Resolution  of  the  City  Council  of  Charleston,  in  relation  to  the 

disposal  of  the  body  of  Mr.  Calhoun 108 

Gov.  Seabrook's  letter  on  the  same  subject.. 109 

Lieut.  DeSaussure's  letter,  tendering  services  of  Washington  Ar- 
tillery Company » 109 

Letter  of  Chairman  of  Vestry  of  St.  Philip's  Church 110 

Resolutions  of  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania 1 10 

Proceedings  in  the  Legislature  of  New  York 112 

Proceedings  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society 115 

Gov.  Seabrook  to  Hon.  R.  B.  Rhett,  requesting  him  to  deliver  an 
oration  before  the  Legislature,  on  the  life,  character,  and  ser- 
vices of  Mr.  Calhoun 117 

Mr.  Rhett's  reply 118 

Mr.  Rhett's  Oration 119 


[  Library, 


Vc  eWorld 


MESSAGE 


OF 


THE  GOVERNOR  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA, 

TO  THE  LEGISLATURE, 


IN  RELATION  TO 


THE  DEATH  OE  MR.  CALHOUN. 


EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,         ) 

Columbia,  Nov.  27, 1850.      \      , 
Fellow- Citizens  of  the  Senate, 

and  House  of  Representatives  : 

Since  your  adjournment  in  December  last,  South  Carolina  has 
presented  a  scene  of  sadness  and  affliction.  In  a  few  months, 
four  of  her  faithful  public  servants,  exercising  distinguished  and 
highly  responsible  public  trusts,  under  the  Federal  and  State  Go- 
vernments, have  passed  from  time  to  eternity.  To  this  bereave- 
ment, it  behooves  us  as  a  people,  humbly  to  submit,  in  the  en- 
couraging assurance  that  the  chastenings  of  Providence  are 
tempered  with  mercy  and  loving  kindness. 

On  ths  31st  of  March,  in  the  City  of  Washington,  John  Cald- 
well Calhoun,  one  of  the  Senators  from  this  State,  terminated 
his  earthly  career.  Th3  announcement  of  the  death  of  so  eminent 
a  citizen  called  forth  the  strongest  manifestations  of  grief  from  a 


2  THE  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE. 

large  portion  of  the  Republic.  In  intensity  of  feeling  and  deep 
pervading  gloom,  it  renewed  the  heart-felt  exhibition  of  mourn- 
ing which  occurred  in  December,  '99,  when  the  fatal  truth  was 
realized  that  George  Washington  had  ceased  to  be  numbered 
with  the  living. 

While  this  great  Confederacy  of  co-equal  Sovereignties,  through 
their  common  agent,  portrayed  in  lofty  terms  the  character  and 
services  of  the  deceased,  several  of  the  States  themselves,  as  well 
as  the  people  of  many  sections  of  the  Union,  in  the  most  im- 
pressive forms  in  which  sorrow  is  susceptible  of  expression,  pro- 
claimed to  the  political  communities  of  the  world  that  a  great 
man,  morally  and  intellectually,  had  fallen.  The  accompanying 
resolutions  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  re- 
ports of  the  late  Mayor  of  Charleston,  and  the  Committee  of  25, 
appointed  by  the  Executive  to  bring  the  remains  of  our  late  Se- 
nator to  South  Carolina,  alone  furnish  satisfactory  evidence  on 
this  subject. 

Although  it  may  be  with  truth  affirmed,  that  personally  Mr. 
Calhoun  was  unknown  to  his  countrymen,  yet,  perhaps^  no  pub- 
lic servant  ever  had  a  stronger  hold  on  their  affections.  This 
was  the  result  o£  a  settled  belief,  that  to  deep  sagacity,  an  enlight- 
ened judgment,  and  profound  wisdom,  he  added  a  patriotic  ardor 
and  integrity  of  purpose  which  no  force  of  circumstances  could 
subdue  or  weaken.  If,  from  a  fearless  assumption  of  responsi- 
bility, and  entire  freedom  from  party  trammels,  on  all  questions 
involving  principle,  he  was  occasionally  exposed  to  the  rebukes 
of  a  certain  class  of  politicians,  still,  the  meed  of  the  people's 
admiration,  if  not  actual  concurrence,  was  never  withheld  from 
him. 

With  all  the  lofty  qualifications  of  a  consummate  statesman? 
our  great  leader  was  deficient  in  the  lower,  yet  not  unfrequently 
important,  attributes  of  the  mere  politician.  In  determining  the 
relative  influence  of  circumstances  on  the  progress  and  destiny 
of  nations,  and  in  estimating  the  force  of  their  combinations,  his 
perspicacity  was  pre-eminent.  Unadapted  to  the  character  of  his 
mind,  and  the  elevated  ends  at  which  he  aimed,  the  task  of  car- 


THE  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE.  3 

rying  an  assailable  point  by  address,  adroitness  in  contrivance,, 
or  other  expedients,  formed  no  part  of  his  labors.  Possessing  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  human  mind,  and  the  springs  of  hu- 
man action,  political  causes  and  their  effects,  he  could,  with  rare- 
penetration,  unfold.  In  the  moral,  as  in  the  physical  world,  there 
are  fixed  laws,  which,  under  the  same  circumstances,  produce- 
like  results.  In  steadfastly  adhering  to  these  as  his  guide,  he 
was  at  all  times  able  to  eliminate  the  truth  of  a  case  amidst  the  ob- 
scurity and  embarrassment  that  encompassed  it.  Far  in  advance- 
of  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  the  discoveries  of  his  intellectual 
vision,  which  the  ordinary  eye  was  incapable  of  appreciating, 
were,  on  certain  subjects,  often  considered  as  the  visionary  specu- 
lations of  an  habitual  alarmist.  In  illustration  of  his  prophetic 
power,  the  wide-spread  effects  of  abolition  aggression  might  be 
appropriately  cited.  If  his  admonitions  and  warnings,  so  early 
and  solemnly  uttered  in  the  Senate,  had  been  practically  attend- 
ed to,  the  present  perilous  condition  of  the  Southern  community 
never  would  have  been  reached ;  nor  would  the  mind  of  the 
public  have  been  startled  by  a  proposition  to  amend  the  charter 
of  Union,  as  a  measure  necessary  to  secure  the  permanence 
and  safety  of  the  domestic  institutions  of  the  South. 

Because  it  was  the  fundamental  law,  Mr.  Calhoun  was  among 
the  most  ardent  and  undeviating  supporters  of  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution. Guided  by  the  soundest  principles  of  political  ethics, 
he  justly  maintained  that  the  only  safe  and  effectual  mode  of  pre- 
serving a  partnership,  whether  among  individuals  or  States,  was 
to  resist  every  encroachment  on  the  terms  of  agreement.  One 
act  of  unchecked  usurpation,  he  was  well  aware,  would  consti- 
tute a  precedent  for  another,  until,  by  a  series  of  unwarrantable 
measures,  adopted  at  various,  and  it  may  be  distant  dates,  the 
distinctive  characteristics  of  the  original  covenant  no  longer  ex- 
isted in  practice.  The  time  of  resistance  to  unlawful  authority 
is  at  the  commencement  of  its  assaults,  because  the  power  of  the 
many,  under  the  panoply  of  might,  is  perpetually  encroaching  on 
the  rights  of  the  few.  The  tendency  of  all  majorities,  moreover, 
is  to  despotism.    In  their  recognition  of  the  Ordinance  of  '87, 


4  THE  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE. 

unwarrantably  enacted  by  the  old  confederation,  and  in  assent- 
ing to  the  Act  admitting  Missouri  into  the  Union,  the  Plantation 
States  unwittingly  inflicted  perhaps  an  incurable  evil  upon  their 
institutions  and  domestic  quiet. 

Mr.  Calhoun's  name  is  intimately  associated  with  the  history 
of  the  United  States  for  the  last  forty  years.  During  that  event- 
ful period,  every  measure  of  high  public  interest  received  the  im- 
press of  his  master  mind.  On  the  science  of  Government,  as  ex- 
emplified in  the  operation  of  our  institutions,  and  that  of  the  Re- 
publics of  antiquity,  his  speeches  and  writings  have  shed  a  flood 
of  light.  While  he  admitted  that  the  Constitution  of  our  country 
was  the  work  of  pure  and  patriotic  men,  and  is  a  proud  monu- 
ment of  human  wisdom,  yet,  in  neglecting  to  provide  ample  se- 
curities for  the  weaker  section  of  the  community,  and  relying  too 
confidently  on  parchment  barriers  for  the  protection  of  the  social 
organization  of  the  respective  parties,  its  framers  have  furnish- 
ed instruments  for  the  destruction  of  their  own  labors,  by  a  slow, 
but  certain,  process. 

Always  on  the  side  of  liberty  and  justice,  the  South  Carolina 
statesman  was  sleeplessly  vigilant  in  detecting  the  insidious  ad- 
vances of  power,  and  confining  the  central  authority  within  its 
strictly  constitutional  orbit.  Aware  of  the  centripetal  tendency 
of  all  political  associations,  under  a  federal  head,  he  labored  so 
unceasingly  to  maintain  the  Union  by  preserving  the  integrity  of 
its  members,  as  to  subject  himself,  among  the  latitudinarians,  to  the 
imputation  of  Southern  predilection.  Duty  and  patriotism  alike 
impelled  him  to  the  adoption  of  this  course. 

The  Congress,  at  an  early  period  of  our  history,  had  not  only 
-exercised  ungranted  powers,  but  had  applied  them  to  the  promo- 
tion of  sectional  purposes,  first  by  openly  plundering,  through  the 
forms  of  law,  the  property  of  one  half  the  States  for  the  benefit 
<of  the  other  half;  but  more  recently  by  other  means,  which 
threatened  the  extinction  of  their  independence  and  sovereignty. 
To  compel  submission  to  its  edicts,  the  authority  of  the  Execu- 
tive had  been  unwarrantably  enlarged.  Prior,  indeed,  to  that  de- 
spotic enactment— the  Force  Bill— the  President  of  the  United 


THE  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE.  5 

States  had  announced  his  solemn  resolution  that,  should  resist- 
ance by  a  State  to  any  measure  of  the  General  Government  be 
attempted,  he  would  suppress  it  with  the  entire  military  force  of 
the  country.  In  fine,  separately  and  unitedly,  the  Executive  and 
Legislative  departments  had  each  avowed  and  assumed  the  right 
of  determining  the  extent  of  its  own  powers,  and  thereby  repudi- 
ating any  title  in  the  States  to  enforce  the  restrictions  they  had 
originally  imposed  on  the  several  fiduciaries  of  the  Federal  Com- 
pact. 

In  opposing,  on  every  occasion,  with  all  the  strength  of  his  gi- 
gantic intellect,  these  bold  and  reckless  attempts  to  convert  a  Re- 
public of  checks  and  balances  into  a  Democracy,  governed  by 
the  will  of  an  interested  and  irresponsible  majority,  the  pen  of 
the  eulogist  is  alone  furnished  with  abundant  matter  to  exhibit  in 
its  true  light  Mr.  Calhoun's  reverence  for  the  noble  bequest  of  our 
fathers,  and  his  deep  devotion  to  the  principles  of  constitutional 
liberty.  His  elaborate  exposition  of  the  prominent  doctrine  of 
the  State  Rights  school ;  that  the  Union  of  '89  was  a  Union  of 
States,  and  not  of  individuals ;  and  as  an  unavoidable  deduc- 
tion, that  "  in  cases  of  deliberate  and  dangerous  infractions  of  the 
Constitution,  the  States,  as  parties  to  the  compact,  have  the  right, 
and  are  in  duty  bound,  to  interpose  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the 
evil,  and  to  maintain  within  their  respective  limits  the  authorities, 
rights  and  liberties  appertaining  to  them ;"  is  unsurpassed  for 
clearness  of  conception,  logical  reasoning,  and  sound  conclusion, 
by  any  intellectual  effort  of  ancient  or  modern  days.  If  the  im- 
portant truths  it  embodies  be  disregarded  by  the  American  peo- 
ple, it  is  not  difficult  to  predict  that,  at  no  distant  day,  the  bond 
which  unites  their  respective  sovereignties  will  be  severed  forever.. 

Had  Mr.  Calhoun  been  a  party  zealot,  he  probably  would  have 
been  elevated  to  the  post  of  Chief  Magistrate.  It  is  certain  that 
at  one  time,  the  road  of  ambition  was  open  before  him,  but  he 
"  chose  to  tread  the  rugged  path  of  duty."  For  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  State  Rights  party,  he 
labored  assiduously,  by  precept  and  example,  to  detect  and  estab- 
lish its  land-marks.     Keeping  steadily  in  view  the  great  ends  of 


6  THE  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE. 

his  system,  the  possibility  of  their  immediate  or  prospective  at- 
tainment, depending  on  the  comparative  difficulty  of  the  circum- 
stances under  which  he  was  called  to  act,  was  nevertheless  an 
aim,  in  his  judgment,  to  be  constantly  kept  in  view.  For  this 
reason,  he  would,  at  times,  in  his  Senatorial  capacity,  assail  the 
measures  of  his  own  political  friends,  and  by  co-operating  with 
their  opponents,  render  himself  liable  to  the  charge  of  inconsist- 
ency, if  not  dereliction  of  duty,  while  in  reality  he  was  only 
maintaining  his  own  independence  and  consistency.  These  oc- 
casions involved  generally  considerations  affecting  directly,  or  in- 
cidentally, the  relative  powers  of  the  Federal  and  State  Govern- 
ments. 

Our  faithful  sentinel  died  at  his  post,  his  mind  dwelling 
to  the  latest  moment  on  the  mighty  topic  which  had  for  many 
years  engrossed  his  undivided  attention.  He  had  long  seen  the 
dangers  the  domestic  institutions  of  the  South  would  have  to  en- 
counter, unless  averted  by  the  influence  of  wise  and  patriotic 
counsels.  His  last  speech  so  ably  portrayed  the  peril  of  our  situ- 
ation, and  the  causes  which  had  produced  it,  that  had  it  pleased 
Providence  to  give  him  the  hour  he  seemed  so  anxious  to  possess, 
another  successful  invasion  of  the  guaranties  of  the  Constitution, 
unless  truth  proved  powerless  on  the  occasion,  would  not  have 
resulted  from  federal  action.  His  potential  voice,  alas,  will  never 
again  be  heard  !  The  record  of  his  opinions  and  acts  constitute 
his  legacy  to  his  countrymen.  By  scrupulously  avoiding  the  gui- 
dance of  a  levelling  philosophy,  and  crushing  in  embryo  the  de- 
lusive and  unfraternal  measures  which  the  spirit  of  a  turbulent 
and  restless  age  has  engendered,  we  shall  be  following  the  ex- 
ample of  him  whose  whole  life  was  a  continuous  effort  to  adapt 
:his  intellectual  energies  to  their  proper  function — the  search  of 
immutable  truth. 

Mr.  Calhoun  had  nearly  attained  the  full  age  allotted  to  man ; 
he  had  rendered  invaluable  services  to  his  country,  and  the  cause 
of  constitutional  government ;  his  public  career  having  been  as 
distinguished  for  the  political  evils  he  had  averted,  as  the  good 
he  had  accomplished ;  whilst  his  character,  in  all  the  relations  of 


THE  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE.  7 

private  life,  was  such  as  the  breath  of  calumny  had  never  ven- 
tured to  assail.  Let,  then,  the  erection  of  a  memorial,  worthy 
both  of  his  exalted  reputation  and  of  the  enduring  gratitude  of 
the  people  of  South  Carolina,  be  the  crowning  act  of  their  constitu- 
tional authorities.  Erect  it  where  the  framers  of  our  laws  and 
the  youth  of  our  State  may,  as  they  contemplate  it,  imbibe  the 
noblest  principles  of  patriotism,  of  wisdom,  and  of  virtue. 

In  accordance  with  these  views,  I  recommend  that  the  lot  of 
four  acres  in  front  of  the  State  House  be  purchased,  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  owners  of  the  property,  at  a  fair  valuation ;  that  a 
monument  to  receive  his  remains,  composed  entirely  of  the  pro- 
ducts of -our  soil,  be  erected  in  the  centre;  and  that  the  grounds, 
skilfully  ornamented  with  shrubbery,  be  converted  into  a  public 
walk. 

It  is  known  that  for  several  years  Mr.  Calhoun  employed  the 
intervals  of  leisure  left  him  by  pressing  public  engagements,  in 
preparing  for  the  press  some  political  works,  which  he  deemed 
of  importance,  not  only  to  his  own  reputation,  but  to  the  inter 
ests  of  the  country.  These,  embracing  an  elementary  treatise 
on  Government,  and  an  elaborate  disquisition  on  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  he  had  just  completed  before  his  death. 
The  two  would  make,  perhaps,  an  octavo  volume  of  about  450 
pages.  An  inspection  of  the  lesser  work,  that  at  my  requef  t  was 
exhibited  to  me  by  his  eldest  son,  during  a  visit  which  I  made  at 
the  family  residence,  and  the  opinion  of  a  highly  competent 
judge,  who  has  given  to  the  larger  work  a  rigid  examination, 
warrant  me  in  saying,  that  perhaps  no  contribution  on  the  same 
or  similar  subject,  equals  them  in  amount  of  thought,  argument 
and  research.  It  may  safely  be  predicted,  that  the  entire  compo- 
sition will  stand  as  distinguished  in  the  political  literature  of  the 
day,  as  the  illustrious  statesman  himself  was  preeminent  among 
the  public  characters  of  his  time.  The  exalted  fame  of  the  au- 
thor, and  the  honor  and  proud  position  of  the  State  which  he  so 
long  loved  and  served,  forbid  that  these  monuments  of  his 
genius,  and  of  his  untiring  industry  and  devotion  to  the  public 
weal,  should  be  given  to  the  world  in  the  ordinary  way.     Nor 


8  THE  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE. 

would  the  common  usage,  so  often  condemned  by  the  deceased, 
of  appealing  to  the  Federal  Government  for  its  countenance  and 
support,  be  sanctioned  by  the  people  of  the  State.  I  feel  assured, 
too,  that  his  family,  who  have  yielded  his  mortal  remains  to  the 
land  of  his  birth,  will  never  surrender  into  other  hands,  the  dis- 
tinctive memorials  of  his  predominant  intellect,  and  of  his  pub- 
lic and  private  virtues. 

I  therefore  recommend  that  these,  as  well  as  other  important 
papers  which  he  left  behind  him,  be  applied  for  and  published  in 
this  State,  by  legislative  authority  ;  that  the  Governor  be  author- 
ized and  requested  to  employ  a  suitable  person  to  superintend  the 
publication  of  two  editions,  one  in  the  best  style  of  modern  ty- 
pography, and  the  other  to  be  furnished  at  as  cheap  a  rate  as  pos- 
sible ;  and  that  whatever  profits  may  accrue,  be  for  the  benefit  of 
Mr.  Calhoun's  family. 

Every  citizen  within  our  limits  should  possess  a  copy  of  this 
legacy  to  the  cause  of  constitutional  liberty.  It  will  teach  him 
not  only  to  understand,  but  to  estimate  the  value  of  his  rights. 
As  the  time  of  decisive  action  has  arrived,  let  it  be  entered  on  the 
record,  that  South  Carolina  has  not  only  preserved  the  uncon- 
querable spirit  of  independence,  but  the  sacred  oracles  of  po- 
litical wisdom. 

WHITEMARSH  B.  SEABROOK. 


PROCEEDINGS 


IN   THE 


SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


In  the  Senate  of  the  United  States, 
Monday,  April  1st,  1850. 

On  the  motion  of  Mr.  King,  the  reading  of  the  Journal  of 
Thursday  was  dispensed  with. 

Mr.  Butler  rose  and  said  : — 

Mr.  President,  I  rise  to  discharge  a  mournful  duty,  and  one 
which  involves  in  it  considerations  well  calculated  to  arrest  the 
attention  of  this  body.  It  is,  to  announce  the  death  of  my  late 
colleague,  the  Hon.  John  Caldwell  Calhoun.  He  died  at 
his  lodgings  in  this  city,  yesterday  morning,  at  half-past  seven 
o'clock.  He  was  conscious  of  his  approaching  end,  and  met 
death  with  fortitude  and  uncommon  serenity.  He  had  many  ad- 
monitions of  its  approach,  and  without  doubt,  he  had  not  been 
indifferent  to  them.  With  his  usual  aversion  to  professions,  he 
said  nothing  for  mere  effect  on  the  world,  and  his  last  hours  were 
an  exemplification  of  his  life  and  character,  truth  and  simplicity. 

Mrr  Calhoun,  for  some  years  past,  had  been  suffering  under  a 
pulmonary  complaint,  and  under  its  effects,  could  have  reckoned 
but  on  a  short  existence.  Such  was  his  own  conviction.  The 
immediate  cause  of  his  death  was  an  affection  of  the  heart.  A 
few  hours  before  he  expired,  he  became  sensible  of  his  situation  ; 


10  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE 

and  when  he  was  unable  to  speak,  his  eye  and  look  evinced  re- 
cognition and  intelligence  of  what  was  passing.  One  of  the  last 
directions  he  gave  was  to  a  dutiful  son,  who  had  been  attending 
him,  to  put  away  some  manuscripts  which  had  been  written  a 
short  time  before,  under  his  dictation. 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  the  least  despondent  man  I  ever  knew  ;  and 
he  had,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the  self-sustaining  power  of  intel- 
lect. His  last  days,  and  his  last  remarks,  are  exemplifications  of 
what  I  have  just  said.  Mental  determination  sustained  him, 
when  all  others  were  in  despair.  We  saw  him  a  few  days  ago, 
in  the  seat  near  me,  which  he  had  so  long  and  honorably  occu- 
pied ;  we  saw  the  struggle  of  a  great  mind  exerting  itself  to  sus- 
tain and  overcome  the  weakness  and  infirmities  of  a  sinking  body. 
It  was  the  exhibition  of  a  wounded  eagle,  with  his  eyes  turned 
to  the  heavens  in  which  he  had  soared,  but  into  which  his  wings 
could  never  carry  him  again. 

Mr.  President,  Mr.  Calhoun  has  lived  in  an  eventful  period 
of  our  Republic,  and  has  acted  a  distinguished  part.  I  surely 
do  not  ventute  too  much,  when  I  say  that  his  reputation  forms  a 
striking  part  of  a  glorious  history.  Since  1811  until  this  time, 
he  has  been  responsibly  connected  with  the  Federal  Government. 
As  Representative,  Senator,  Cabinet  Minister,  and  Vice  President, 
he  has  been  identified  with  the  greatest  events  in  the  political 
history  of  our  country.  And  I  hope  I  may  be  permitted  to  say> 
that  he  has  been  equal  to  all  the  duties  which  were  devolved  up- 
on him  in  the  many  critical  junctures  in  which  he  was  placed. — 
Having  to  act  a  responsible  part,  he  always  acted  a  decided  part. 
It  would  not  become  me  to  venture  upon  the  judgment  which 
awaits  his  memory.  That  will  be  formed  by  posterity  before  the 
impartial  tribunal  of  history.  It  may  be  that  he  will  have  had 
the  fate,  and  will  have  given  to  him,  the  judgment  that  has  been 
awarded  to  Chatham. 

I  should  do  the  memory  of  my  friend  injustice  were  I  not  to 
speak  of  his  life  in  the  spirit  of  history.  The  dignity  of  his 
whole  character  would  rebuke  any  tone  of  remark  which  truth 
and  judgment  would  not  sanction. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  11 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  and  was  born 
in  Abbeville  district,  on  the  18th  March,  1782.  He  was  of  an 
Irish  family.  His  father,  Patrick  Calhoun,  was  born  in  Ireland, 
and  at  an  early  age  came  to  Pennsylvania,  thence  moved  to  the 
western  part  of  Virginia,  and  after  Braddock's  defeat,  moved  to 
South  Carolina,  in  1756.  He  and  his  family  gave  a  name  to 
what  is  known  as  the  Calhoun  settlement  in  Abbeville  district. 
The  mother  of  my  colleague  was  a  Miss  Caldwell,  born  in  Char- 
lotte county,  Virginia.  The  character  of  his  parents  had  no 
doubt  a  sensible  influence  on  the  destiny  of  their  distinguished 
son.  His  father  had  energy  and  enterprise,  combined  with  per- 
severance and  great  mental  determination.  His  mother  belonged 
to  a  family  of  revolutionary  heroes.  Two  of  her  brothers  were 
distinguished  in  the  Revolution.  Their  names  and  achieve- 
ments are  not  left  to  tradition,  but  constitute  a  part  of  the  history 
of  the  times. 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  born  in  the  Revolution,  and  in  his  child- 
hood felt  the  influence  of  its  exciting  traditions.  He  derived 
from  the  paternal  stock,  intellect  and  self-reliance,  and  from  the 
Caldwells,  enthusiasm  and  impulse.  The  traditions  of  the  Re- 
volution had  a  sensible  influence  on  his  temper  and  character. 

Mr.  Calhoun,  in  his  childhood,  had  but  limited  advantages  of 
what  is  termed  a  literary  tuition.  His  parents  lived  in  a  newly- 
settled  country,  and  among  a  sparse  population.  This  popula- 
tion had  but  a  slight  connection  with  the  lower  country  of  South 
Carolina,  and  were  sustained  by  emigrants  from  Virginia  and 
Pennsylvania.  There  was,  of  course,  but  limited  means  of  in- 
struction to  children.  They  imbibed  most  of  their  lessons  from 
the  conversation  of  their  parents.  Mr.  Calhoun  has  always 
expressed  himself  deeply  sensible  of  that  influence.  At  the  age 
of  thirteen,  he  was  put  under  the  charge  of  his  brother-in-law, 
Dr.  Waddel,  in  Columbia  county,  Georgia.  Scarcely  had  he 
commenced  his  literary  course  before  his  father  and  sister  died. 
His  brother-in-law,  Dr.  Waddel,  devote  dhimself  about  this  time 
to  his  clerical  duties,  and  was  a  great  deal  absent  from  home. 

On  his  second  marriage,  he  resumed  the  duties  of  his  acade- 


12  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE 

my ;  and,  in  his  nineteenth  year,  Mr.  Calhoun  put  himself  un- 
der the  charge  of  this  distinguished  teacher.  It  must  not  be  sup- 
posed that  his  mind,  before  this,  had  been  unemployed.  He  had 
availed  himself  of  the  advantages  of  a  small  library,  and  had 
been  deeply  inspired  by  his  reading  of  history.  It  was  under 
such  influences  that  he  entered  the  academy  of  his  preceptor. — 
His  progress  was  rapid.  He  looked  forward  to  a  higher  arena, 
with  eagerness  and  purpose. 

He  became  a  student  in  Yale  College  in  1802,  and  graduated 
two  years  afterwards  with  distinction,  as  a  young  man  of  great 
ability,  and  with  the  respect  and  confidence  of  his  preceptors  and 
fellows.  What  they  have  said  and  thought  of  him  would  have 
given  any  man  a  high  reputation.  It  is  the  pure  fountain  of  a 
clear  reputation.  If  the  stream  has  met  with  obstructions,  they 
were  such  as  have  only  shown  its  beauty  and  majesty. 

After  he  had  graduated,  Mr.  Calhoun  studied  law,  and  for  a 
few  years  practised  in  the  courts  of  South  Carolina,  with  a  repu- 
tation that  has  descended  to  the  profession.  He  was  then  re- 
markable for  some  traits  that  have  since  characterized  him.  He 
was  clear  in  his  propositions,  and  candid  in  his  intercourse  with  his 
brethren.  The  truth  and  justice  of  the  law  inculcated  them- 
selves on  his  mind,  and  when  armed  with  these,  he  was  a  great 
advocate. 

His  forensic  career  was,  however,  too  limited  to  make  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  history  of  his  life.  He  served  for  some  years  in 
the  Legislature  of  his  native  State  ;  and  his  great  mind  made  an 
impression  on  her  statutes,  some  of  which  have  had  a  great  prac- 
tical operation  on  the  concerns  of  society.  From  the  Legislature 
of  his  own  State  he  was  transferred  to  Congress ;  and  from  that 
time  his  career  has  been  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  Federal  Go- 
vernment. 

Mr.  Calhoun  came  into  Congress  at  a  time  of  deep  and  exci- 
ting interest — at  a  crisis  of  great  magitude.  It  was  a  crisis  of 
peril  to  those  who  had  to  act  in  it,  but  of  subsequent  glory  to  the 
actors  and  the  common  history  of  the  country.  The  invincibili- 
ty of  Great  Britain  had  become  a  proverbial  expression,  and  a 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  13 

war  with  her  was  full  of  terrific  issues.  Mr.  Calhoun  found 
himself  at  once  in  a  situation  of  high  responsibility — one  that 
required  more  than  speaking  qualities  and  eloquence  to  fulfil  it. 
The  spirit  of  the  people  required  direction  ;  the  energy  and  ardor 
of  youth  were  to  be  employed  in  affairs  requiring  the  maturer 
qualities  of  a  statesman.  The  part  which  Mr.  Calhoun  acted  at 
this  time  has  been  approved  and  applauded  by  cotemporaries, 
and  now  forms  a  part  of  the  glorious  history  of  those  times. 

The  names  of  Clay,  Calhoun,  Cheves,  and  Lowndes, 
Grundy,  Porter,  and  others,  carried  associations  with  them 
that  reached  the  heart  of  the  nation.  Their  clarion  notes  pene- 
trated the  army,*  they  animated  the  people,  and  sustained  the 
Administration  of  the  Government.  With  such  actors,  and  in 
such  scenes — the  most  eventful  of  our  history — to  say  that  Mr. 
Calhoun  did  not  perform  a  second  part,  is  no  common  praise. 
In  debate  he  was  equal  with  Randolph,  and  in  council  he  com- 
manded the  respect  and  confidence  of  Madison.  At  this  period 
of  his  life  he  had  the  quality  of  Themistocles — to  inspire  confi- 
dence— which,  after  all,  is  the  highest  of  earthly  qualities  in  a 
public  man  ;  it  is  a  mystical  something,  which  is  felt,  but  cannot 
be  described. 

The  events  of  the  war  were  brilliant  and  honorable  to  both 
statesmen  and  soldiers,  and  their  history  may  be  read  with  en- 
thusiasm and  delight.  The  war  terminated  with  honor;  but 
the  measures  which  had  to  be  taken,  in  a  transition  to  a  peace 
establishment,  were  full  of  difficulty  and  embarrassment.  This 
distinguished  statesman,  with  his  usual  intrepidity,  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  take  a  responsible  and  leading  part.  Under  the  influ- 
ence of  a  broad  patriotism,  he  acted  with  an  uncalculating  lib- 
erality to  all  the  interests  that  were  involved,  and  which  were 
brought  under  review  of  Congress.  His  personal  adversary  at 
this  time,  in  his  admiration  for  his  genius,  paid  Mr.  Calhoun  a 

#  Governor  Dodge,  (now  a  Senator  on  this  floor.)  who  was  at  that  time 
a  gallant  officer  of  the  army,  informs  me  that  the  speeches  of  Calhoun 
and  Clay  were  publicly  read  to  the  army,  and  exerted  a  most  decided 
nfluence  on  the  spirits  of  the  men. 


14  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE 

beautiful  compliment  for  his  noble  and  national  sentiments,  and 
views  of  policy.  The  gentieman  to  whom  I  refer  is  Mr.  Gros- 
venor,  of  N.  Y.,  who  used  the  following  language  in  debate : 

"  He  had  heard  with  peculiar  satisfaction,  the  able,  manly,  and 
constitutional  speech  of  the  gentleman  from  South  Carolina. 
(Here  Mr.  Grosvenor  recurring  in  his  own  mind  to  a  personal 
difference  with  Mr.  Calhoun,  which  arose  out  of  the  warm  par- 
ty discussions  during  the  war,  paused  for  a  moment,  and  then 
proceeded.) 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  I  will  not  be  restrained.  No  barrier  shall  ex- 
ist which  I  will  not  leap  over,  for  the  purpose  of  offering  to  that 
gentleman  my  thanks  for  the  judicious,  independent  and  national 
course  which  he  has  pursued  in  this  House  for  the  last  two  years, 
and  particularly  on  the  subject  now  before  us.  Let  the  honor- 
able gentleman  continue  with  the  same  manly  independence, 
aloof  from  party  views  and  local  prejudices,  to  pursue  the  great 
interests  of  his  country,  and  to  fulfil  the  high  destiny  for  which 
it  is  manifest  he  was  born.  The  buzz  of  popular  applause  may 
not  cheer  him  on  his  way,  but  he  will  inevitably  arrive  at  a  high 
and  happy  elevation,  in  the  view  of  his  country  and  the  world." 

At  the  termination  of  Mr.  Madison's  administration,  Mr.  Cal- 
houn had  acquired  a  commanding  reputation  ;  he  was  regarded 
as  one  of  the  sages  of  the  Republic.  In  1817,  Mr.  Monroe  invi- 
ted him  to  a  place  in  his  Cabinet.  Mr.  Calhoun's  friends  doubt- 
ed the  propriety  of  his  accepting  it,  and  some  of  them  thought  he 
would  put  a  high  reputation  at  hazard  in  this  new  sphere  of  ac- 
tion. Perhaps  these  suggestions  fired  his  high  and  gifted  intel- 
lect ;  he  accepted  the  place,  and  went  into  the  War  Department, 
under  circumstances  that  might  have  appalled  other  men.  His 
success  has  been  acknowledged.  What  was  complex  and  con- 
fused, he  reduced  to  simplicity  and  order.  His  organization  of 
the  War  Department,  and  his  administration  of  its  undefined 
duties,  have  made  the  impression  of  an  author,  having  the  inter- 
est of  originality,  and  the  sanction  of  trial. 

To  applicants  for  office,  Mr.  Calhoun  made  few  promises,  and 
hence  he  was  not  accused  of  delusion  and  deception.    When  a 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  15 

public  trust  was  involved,  he  would  not  compromise  with  dupli- 
city or  temporary  expediency. 

At  the  expiration  of  Mr.  Monroe's  administration,  Mr.  Cal- 
houn's name  became  connected  with  the  Presidency ;  and  from 
that  time  to  his  death  he  had  to  share  the  fate  of  all  others  who 
occupy  prominent  situations. 

The  remarkable  canvass  for  the  President  to  succeed  Mr. 
Monroe,  terminated  in  returning  three  distinguished  men  to  the 
House  of  Representatives,  from  whom  one  was  to  be  elected. 
Mr.  Calhoun  was  elected  Yice  President  by  a  large  majority. 
He  took  his  seat  in  the  Senate  as  Vice  President,  on  the  4th  of 
March,  1825,  having  remained  in  the  War  Department  over 
seven  years. 

While  he  was  Yice  President,  he  was  placed  in  some  of  the 
most  trying  scenes  of  any  man's  life.  I  do  not  now  choose  to 
refer  to  anything  that  can  have  the  elements  of  controversy ;  but 
I  hope  I  may  be  permitted  to  speak  of  my  friend  and  colleague 
in  a  character  in  which  all  will  join  in  paying  him  sincere  re- 
spect. As  a  presiding  officer  of  this  body,  he  had  the  undivided 
respect  of  its  members.  He  was  punctual,  methodical  and  im- 
partial, and  had  a  high  regard  for  the  dignity  of  the  Senate, 
which,  as  a  presiding  officer,  he  endeavored  to  preserve  and  main- 
tain. He  looked  upon  debate  as  an  honorable  contest  of  intel- 
lect for  truth.  Such  a  strife  has  its  incidents  and  its  trials  ;  but 
Mr.  Calhoun  had,  in  an  eminent  degree,  a  regard  for  parliamen- 
tary dignity  and  propriety. 

Upon  General  Hayne's  leaving  the  Senate  to  become  Governor 
of  South  Carolina,  Mr.  Calhoun  resigned  the  Vice  Presidency, 
and  was  elected  in  his  place.  All  will  now  agree,  that  such  a 
position  was  environed  with  difficulties  and  dangers.  His  own 
State  was  under  the  ban,  and  he  was  in  the  national  Senate  to 
do  her  justice  under  his  constitutional  obligations.  That  part  of 
his  life  posterity  will  review,  and  I  am  confident  will  do  it  full 
and  impartial  justice. 

After  his  senatorial  term  had  expired,  he  went  into  retirement, 
by  his  own  consent.     The  death  of  Mr.  Upshur — so  full  of  mel  • 


16  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE 

ancholy  associations — made  a  vacancy  in  the  State  Department ; 
and  it  was  by  the  common  consent  of  all  parties,  that  Mr.  Cal- 
houn was  called  to  fill  it.  This  was  a  tribute  of  which  any 
public  man  might  well  be  proud.  It  was  a  tribute  to  truth,  abil- 
ity and  experience.  Under  Mr.  Calhoun's  counsels,  Texas  was 
brought  into  the  Union.  His  name  is  associated  with  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  events  of  history — that  of  one  Republic  being 
annexed  to  another  by  the  voluntary  consent  of  both.  He  was 
the  happy  agent  to  bring  about  this  fraternal  association.  It  is 
a  conjunction  under  the  sanction  of  his  name,  and  by  an  influ- 
ence exerted  through  his  great  and  intrepid  mind.  Mr.  Cal- 
houn's connection  with  the  Executive  department  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, terminated  with  Mr.  Tyler's  administration.  As  a  Sec- 
retary of  State,  he  won  the  confidence  and  respect  of  foreign  am- 
bassadors, and  his  dispatches  were  characterized  by  clearness, 
sagacity  and  boldness. 

He  was  not  allowed  to  remain  in  retirement  long.  For  the 
last  five  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  this  body,  and  has  been 
engaged  in  discussions  that  have  deeply  excited  and  agitated 
the  country.  He  has  died  amidst  them.  I  had  never  had  any 
particular  association  with  Mr.  Calhoun,  until  I  became  his 
colleague  in  this  body.  I  had  looked  on  his  fame  as  others  had 
done,  and  had  admired  his  character.  There  are  those  here  who 
know  more  of  him  than  I  do.  I  shall  not  pronounce  any  such 
judgment  as  may  be  subject  to  a  controversial  criticism.  But  I 
will  say,  as  a  matter  of  justice,  from  my  own  personal  knowl- 
edge, that  I  never  knew  a  fairer  man  in  argument,  or  a  juster 
man  in  purpose.  His  intensity  allowed  of  little  compromise. 
While  he  did  not  qualify  his  own  positions  to  suit  the  temper  of 
the  times,  he  appreciated  the  unmasked  propositions  of  others. 
As  a  Senator,  he  commanded  the  respect  of  the  ablest  men  of 
the  body  of  which  he  was  a  member ;  and  I  believe  I  may  say, 
that  where  there  was  no  political  bias  to  influence  the  judgment, 
he  had  the  confidence  of  his  brethren.  As  a  statesman,  Mr. 
Calhoun's  reputation  belongs  to  the  history  of  the  country,  and 
I  commit  it  to  his  countrymen  and  posterity. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  17 

In  my  opinion,  Mr.  Calhoun  deserves  to  occupy  the  first  rank 
as  a  parliamentary  speaker.  He  had  always  before  him  the 
dignity  of  purpose,  and  he  spoke  to  an  end.  From  a  full  mind, 
fired  by  genius,  he  expressed  his  ideas  with  clearness,  simplici- 
ty and  force  ;  and  in  language  that  seemed  to  be  the  vehicle  of 
his  thoughts  and  emotions.  His  thoughts  leaped  from  his  mind, 
like  arrows  from  a  well-drawn  bow.  They  had  both  the  aim 
and  force  of  a  skilful  archer.  He  seemed  to  have  had  little  re- 
gard for  ornament ;  and  when  he  used  figures  of  speech,  they 
were  only  for  illustration.  His  manner  and  countenance  were 
his  best  language  ;  and  in  these  there  was  an  exemplification  of 
what  is  meant  by  Action  in  that  term  of  the  great  Athenian  ora- 
tor and  statesman,  whom,  in  so  many  respects,  he  so  closely  re- 
sembled. They  served  to  exhibit  the  moral  elevation  of  the 
man. 

In  speaking  of  Mr.  Calhoun  as  a  man  and  a  neighbor,  I  am 
sure  I  may  speak  of  him  in  a  sphere  in  which  all  will  love  to 
contemplate  him.  Whilst  he  was  a  gentleman  of  striking  de- 
portment, he  was  a  man  of  primitive  taste  and  simple  manners. 
He  had  the  hardy  virtues  and  simple  tastes  of  a  republican  citi- 
zen. No  one  disliked  ostentation  and  exhibition  more  than  he 
did.  When  I  say  he  was  a  good  neighbor,  I  imply  more  than 
I  have  expressed.  It  is  summed  up  under  the  word  justice.  I 
will  venture  to  say,  that  no  one  in  his  private  relations  could 
ever  say  that  Mr.  Calhoun  treated  him  with  injustice,  or  that 
he  deceived  him  by  professions  or  concealments.  His  private 
character  was  illustrated  by  a  beautiful  propriety,  and  was  the 
exemplification  of  truth,  justice,  temperance,  and  fidelity  to  all 
his  engagements. 

I  will  venture  another  remark.  Mr.  Calhoun  was  fierce  in 
his  contests  with  political  adversaries.  He  did  not  stop  in  the 
fight  to  count  losses  or  bestow  favors.  But  he  forgot  resentments, 
and  forgave  injuries  inflicted  by  rivals,  with  signal  magnanimi- 
ty. Whilst  he  spoke  freely  of  their  faults,  he  could  with  justice 
appreciate  the  merits  of  all  the  public  men  of  whom  I  have  heard 
him  speak.  He  was  sincerely  attached  to  the  institutions  of  this 
2 


18  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE 

country,  and  desired  to  preserve  them  pure  and  make  them  per- 
petual. 

By  the  death  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  one  of  the  brightest  luminaries 
has  been  extinguished  in  the  political  firmament.  It  is  an  event 
which  will  produce  a  deep  sensation  throughout  this  broad  land, 
and  the  civilized  world. 

I  have  forborne  to  speak  of  his  domestic  relations.  They 
make  a  sacred  circle,  and  I  will  not  invade  it. 

Mr.  Butler  then  offered  the  following  resolutions : 

j  Resolved  unanimously.  That  a  committee  be  appointed  by  the  Yice 
President  to  take  order  for  superintending  the  funeral  of  the  Hon. 
John  Caldwell  Calhoun,  which  will  take  place  tomorrow,  at  12 
o'clock  meridian,  and  that  the  Senate  will  attend  the  same. 

Rosolvcd  unanimously,  That  the  members  of  the  Senate,  from  a  sin- 
cere desire  of  showing  every  mark  of  respect  due  to  the  memory  of  the 
Hon;  John  Caldwell  Calhoun,  deceased,  late  a  member  thereof,  will 
go  into  mourning  for  him  for  one  month,  by  the  usual  mode  of  wearing 
crape  on  the  left  arm. 

Resolved  unanimously,  That,  as  an  additional  mark  of  respect  to  the 
memory  of  the  deceased,  the  Senate  do  now  adjourn. 


Mr.  Clay.— Mr.  President,  prompted  by  my  own  feelings 
of  profound  regret,  and  by  the  intimations  of  some  highly  es- 
teemed friendsj  I  wish,  in  rising  to  second  the  resolutions  which 
have  been  offered,  and  which  have  just  been  read,  to  add  a  few 
words  to  what  has  been  so  well  and  so  justly  said  by  the  survi- 
ving colleague  of  the  illustrious  deceased. 

My  personal  acquaintance  with  him,  Mr.  President,  com- 
menced upwards  of  thirty-eight  years  ago.  We  entered  at  the 
same  time,  together,  the  House  of  Representatives  at  the  other 
end  of  this  building.  The  Congress  of  which  we  thus  became 
members,  was  that  amongst  whose  deliberations  and  acts  was 
the  declaration  of  war  against  the  most  powerful  nation,  as  it 
xespects  us,  in  the  world.    During  the  preliminary  discussions 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  19 

which  arose  in  the  preparation  for  that  great  event,  as  well  as 
during  those  which  took  place  when  the  resolution  was  finally 
adopted,  no  member  displayed  a  more  lively  and  patriotic  sensi- 
bility to  the  wrongs  which  led  to  that  momentous  event  than 
the  deceased  whose  death  we  all  now  so  much  deplore.  Ever 
active,  ardent,  able,  no  one  was  in  advance  of  him  in  advocating 
the  cause  of  his  country,  and  denouncing  the  foreign  injustice 
which  compelled  us  to  appeal  to  arms.  Of  all  the  Congresses 
with  which  I  have  had  any  acquaintance  since  my  entry  into 
the  service  of  the  Federal  Government,  in  none,  in  my  humble 
opinion,  has  basn  assembled  such  a  galaxy  of  eminent  and  able 
men,  as  were  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  that  Congress 
which  declared  the  war,  and  in  that  immediately  following  the 
peace;  and,  amongst  that  splendid  constellation,  none  shone 
more  bright  and  brilliant  than  the  star  which  is  now  set. 

It  was  my  happiness,  sir,  during  a  large  part  of  the  life  of  the 
departed,  to  concur  with  him  on  all  great  questions  of  national 
policy.  And,  at  a  later  period,  when  it  was  my  fortune  to  differ 
from  him  as  to  measures  of  domestic  policy,  I  had  the  happiness 
to  agree  with  him  generally  as  to  those  which  concerned  our  for- 
l'«  eign  relations,  and  especially  as  to  the  preservation  of  the  peace 
of  the  country.  During  the  long  session  at  which  the  war  was 
declared,  we  were  messmates,  as  were  other  distinguished  mem- 
bers of  Congress  from  his  own  patriotic  State.  I  was  afforded, 
by  the  intercourse  which  resulted  from  that  fact,  as  well  as  the 
subsequent  intimacy  and  intercourse  which  arose  between  us,  an 
opportunity  to  form  an  estimate,  not  merely  of  his  public,  but  of 
his  private  life  ;  and  no  man  with  whom  I  have  ever  been  ac- 
quainted, exceeded  him  in  habits  of  temperance  and  regularity, 
and  in  all  the  freedom,  frankness,  and  affability  of  social  inter- 
course, and  in  all  the  tenderness,  and  respect,  and  affection, 
which  he  manifested  towards  that  lady  who  now  mourns  more 
than  any  other,  the  sad  event  which  has  just  occurred.  Such, 
Mr.  President,  was  the  high  estimate  I  formed  of  his  transcen- 
dent talents,  that  if,  at  the  end  of  his  service  in  the  Executive 
Department,  under  Mr.  Monroe's  administration,  the  duties  of 


20  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE 

which  he  performed  with  such  signal  ability,  he  had  been  called 
to  the  highest  office  in  the  Government,  I  should  have  felt  per- 
fectly assured  that  under  his  auspices,  the  honor,  the  prosperity, 
and  the  glory  of  our  country  would  have  been  safely  placed. 

Sir,  he  has  gone !  No  more  shall  we  witness  from  yonder 
seat  the  flashes  of  that  keen  and  penetrating  eye  of  his,  darting 
through  this  chamber.  No  more  shall  we  be  thrilled  by  that  tor- 
rent of  clear,  concise,  compact  logic,  poured  out  from  his  lips, 
which,  if  it  did  not  always  carry  conviction  to  our  judgment,  al- 
ways commanded  our  great  admiration.  Those  eyes  and  those 
lips  are  closed  forever ! 

And  when,  Mr.  President,  will   that  great  vacancy  which 

has  been  created  by  the  event  to  which  we  are  now  alluding, 

\  when  will  it  be  filled  by  an  equal  amount  of  ability,  patriotism, 

'  and  devotion,  to  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  best  interests  of  his 

'  country? 

Sir,  this  is  not  the  appropriate  occasion,  nor  would  I  be  the  ap- 
propriate person  to  attempt  a  delineation  of  his  character,  or  the 
powers  of  his  enlightened  mind.  I  will  only  say,  in  a  few  words, 
that  he  possessed  an  elevated  genius  of  the  highest  order ;  that 
in  felicity  of  generalization  of  the  subjects  of  which  his  mind 
treated,  I  have  seen  him  surpassed  by  no  one ;  and  the  charm 
and  captivating  influence  of  his  colloquial  powers  have  been 
felt  by  all  who  have  conversed  with  him.  I  was  his  senior,  Mr. 
President,  in  years — in  nothing  else.  According  to  the  course 
of  nature,  I  ought  to  have  preceded  him.  It  has  been  decreed 
otherwise ;  but  I  know  that  I  shall  linger  here  only  a  short  time, 
and  shall  soon  follow  him. 

And  how  brief,  how  short  is  the  period  of  human  existence  al- 
lotted even  to  the  youngest  amongst  us  !  Sir,  ought  we  not  to 
profit  by  the  contemplation  of  this  melancholy  occasion  ?  Ought 
we  not  to  draw  from  it  the  conclusion  how  unwise  it  is  to  in- 
dulge in  the  acerbity  of  unbridled  debate  ?  How  unwise  to  yield 
ourselves  to  the  sway  of  the  animosities  of  party  feeling  ?  How 
wrong  it  is  to  indulge  in  those  unhappy  and  hot  strifes  which  too 
often  exasperate  our  feelings  and  mislead  our  judgments  in  the 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  21 

discharge  of  the  high  and  responsible  duties  which  we  are  call- 
ed to  perform  ?  How  unbecoming,  if  not  presumptuous,  it  is  in 
us,  who  are  the  tenants  of  an  hour  in  this  earthly  abode,  to  wres- 
tle and  struggle  together  with  a  violence  which  would  not  be  jus- 
tifiable if  it  were  our  perpetual  home ! 

In  conclusion,  sir,  while  I  beg  leave  to  express  my  cordial  sym- 
pathies and  sentiments  of  the  deepest  condolence  towards  all  who 
stand  in  near  relation  to  him,  I  trust  we  shall  all  be  instructed 
by  the  eminent  virtues  and  merits  of  his  exalted  character,  an$U 
be  taught  by  his  bright  example  to  fulfil  our  great  public  duties  ' 
by  the  lights  of  our  own  judgment  and  the  dictates  of  our  own 
consciences,  as  he  did,  according  to  his  honest  and  best  compre- 
hension of  those  duties,  faithfully  and  to  the  last  "' 

Mr.  Webster. — I  hope  the  Senate  will  indulge  me  in  adding 
a  very  few  words  to  what  has  been  said.  My  apology  for  this 
presumption  is  the  very  long  acquaintance  which  has  subsisted 
between  Mr.  Calhoun  and  mysel£  We  are  of  the  same  age. — 
I  made  my  first  entrance  into  the  House  of  Representatives  in 
May,  1813,  and  there  found  Mr.  Calhoun.  He  had  already 
been  in  that  body  for  two  or  three  years.  I  found  him  then  an 
active  and  efficient  member  of  the  assembly  to  which  he  be- 
longed, taking  a  decided  part,  and  exercising  a  decided  influence, 
in  all  its  deliberations. 

From  that  day  to  the  day  of  his  death,  amidst  all  the  strifes 
of  party  and  politics,  there  has  subsisted  between  us,  always,  and 
without  interruption,  a  great  degree  of  personal  kindness. 

Differing  widely  on  many  great  questions  respecting  the  insti- 
tutions and  government  of  the  country,  those  differences  never 
interrupted  our  personal  and  social  intercourse.  I  have  been 
present  at  most  of  the  distinguished  instances  of  the  exhibition 
of  his  talents  in  debate.  I  have  always  heard  him  with  plea- 
sure, often  with  much  instruction,  not  unfrequently  with  the 
highest  degree  of  admiration. 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  calculated  to  be  a  leader  in  whatsoever  as- 
sociation of  political  friends  he  was  thrown.     He  was  a  man  of 


22  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE 

undoubted  genius,  and  of  commanding  talent.  All  the  conntry 
aaid  all  the  world  admit  that.  His  mind  was  both  perceptive  and 
vigorous.     It  was  clear,  quick,  and  strong. 

Sir,  the  eloquence  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  or  the  manner  of  his  exhi- 
bition of  his  sentiments  in  public  bodies,  was  part  of  his  intellec- 
tual character.  It  grew  out  of  the  qualities  of  his  mind.  It  was 
plain,  strong,  terse,  condensed,  concise  ;  sometimes  impassioned — 
still  always  severe.  Rejecting  ornament,  not  often  seeking  far 
for  illustration,  his  power  consisted  in  the  plainness  of  his  pro- 
positions, in  the  closeness  of  his  logic,  and  in  the  earnestness  and 
energy  of  his  manner..  These  are  the  qualities,  as  I  think,  which 
have  enabled  him,  through  such  a  long  course  of  years,  to  speak 
often,  and  yet  always  command  attention.  His  demeanor  as  a 
Senator  is  known  to  us  all — is  appreciated,  venerated  by  us  all. 
No  man  was  more  respectful  to  others  ;  no  man  carried  himself 
with  greater  decorum,  no  man  with  superior  dignity.  I  think 
there  is  not  one  of  us  but  felt,  when  he  last  addressed  us  from 
his  seat  in  the  Senate,  his  form  still  erect,  with  a  voice  by  no 
means  indicating  such  a  degree  of  physical  weakness  as  did,  in 
fact,  possess  him,  with  clear  tones,  and  an  impressive,  and,  I 
may  say,  an  imposing  manner,  who  did  not  feel  that  he  might 
imagine  that  we  saw  before  us  a  Senator  of  Rome,  when  Rome 
survived. 

Sir,  I  have  not  in  public  nor  in  private  life  known  a  more  as- 
siduous person  in  the  discharge  of  his  appropriate  duties.  I  have 
4  known  no  man  who  wasted  less  of  life  in  what  is  called  re- 
creation, or  employed  less  of  it  in  any  pursuits  not  connected 
with  the  immediate  discharge  of  his  duty.  He  seemed  to  have 
no  recreation  but  the  pleasure  of  conversation  with  his  friends. 
Out  of  the  chambers  of  Congress,  he  was  either  devoting  himself 
to  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  pertaining  to  the  immediate  sub- 
ject of  the  duty  before  him,  or  else  he  was  indulging  in  those  so- 
cial interviews  in  which  he  so  much  delighted. 

My  honorable  friend  from  Kentucky  has  spoken  in  just  terms 
of  his  colloquial  talents.  .They  certainly  were  singular  and  emi- 
nent.    There  was  a  charm  in  his  conversation  not  often  found. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  23 

He  delighted,  especially,  in  conversation  and  intercourse  with 
young  men.  I  suppose  that  there  has  been  no  man  among  us 
who  had  more  winning  manners,  in  such  an  intercourse  and  con- 
versation, with  men  comparatively  young,  than  Mr.  Calhoun. 
I  believe  one  great  power  of  his  character,  in  general,  was  his 
conversational  talent,  I  believe  it  is  that,  as  well  as  a  conscious- 
ness of  his  high  integrity,  and  the  greatest  reverence  for  his  in- 
tellect and  ability,  that  has  made  him  so  endeared  an  object  to 
the  people  of  the  State  to  which  he  belonged. 

Mr.  President,  he  had  the  basis,  the  indispensable  basis,  oF~^ 
all  high  character ;  and  that  was,  unspotted  integrity — unim- 
peached  honor  and  character.  If  he  had  aspirations,  they  were 
high,  and  honorable,  and  noble.  There  was  nothing  groveling, 
or  low,  or  meanly  selfish,  that  came  near  the  head  or  the  heart  of 
Mr.  Calhoun.  Firm  in  his  purpose,  perfectly  patriotic  and  hon-  '• 
est,  as  I  am  sure  he  was,  in  the  principles  that  he  espoused,  and 
in  the  measures  that  he  defended,  aside  from  that  large  regard 
for  that  species  of  distinction  that  conducted  him  to  eminent  sta- 
tions for  the  benefit  of  the  republic,  I  do  not  believe  he  had  a  sel- 
fish motive,  or  selfish  feeling. 

However,  sir,  he  may  have  differed  from  others  of  us  in  his  po- 
litical opinions,  or  his  political  principles,  those  principles  and 
those  opinions  will  now  descend  to  posterity  under  the  sanction 
of  a  great  name.  He  has  lived  long  enough,  he  has  done  enough, 
and  he  has  done  it  so  well,  so  successfully,  so  honorably,  as  to 
connect  himself  for  all  time  with  the  records  of  his  country.  He 
is  now  a  historical  character.  Those  of  us  who  have  known 
him  here,  will  find  that  he  has  left  upon  our  minds  and  our  hearts 
a  strong  and  lasting  impression  of  his  person,  his  character,  and 
his  public  performances,  which,  while  we  live,  will  never  be  oblit- 
erated. We  shall  hereafter,  I  am  sure,  indulge  in  it  as  a  grateful 
recollection  that  we  have  lived  in  his  age,  that  we  have  been  his 
cotemporaries,  that  we  have  seen  him,  and  heard  him,  and  known 
him.  We  shall  delight  to  speak  of  him  to  those  who  are  rising 
up  to  fill  our  places.  And,  when  the  time  shall  come  when  we 
ourselves  shall  go,  one  after  another,  in  succession,  to  our  graves, 


24  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE 

we  shall  carry  with  us  a  deep  sense  of  his  genius  and  character, 
his  honor  and  integrity,  his  amiable  deportment  in  private  life, 
and  the  purity  of  his  exalted  patriotism. 

Mr.  Rusk. — Mr.  President  :  I  hope  it  will  not  be  considered 
inappropriate  for  me  to  say  a  word  upon  this  solemn  occasion. — ■ 
Being  a  native  of  the  same  State  with  the  distinguished  Senator 
whose  death  has  cast  such  a  gloom  upon  this  Senate  and  the 
audience  here  assembled,  I  had  the  good  fortune,  at  an  early  pe- 
riod of  my  life,  to  make  his  acquaintance.  At  that  time  he  was 
just  entering  on  that  bright  career  which  has  now  terminated. — 
I  was  then  a  boy,  with  prospects  anything  but  flattering.  To 
him,  at  that  period,  I  was  indebted  for  words  of  kindness  and  en- 
couragement ;  and  often  since,  in  the  most  critical  positions  in 
which  I  have  been  placed,  a  recurrence  to  those  words  of  encour- 
agement has  inspired  me  with  resolution  to  meet  difficulties  that 
beset  my  path.  Four  years  ago,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  renewing 
that  acquaintance,  after  an  absence  of  some  fifteen  years  ;  and 
this  took  place  after  he  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  question 
of  annexing  Texas  to  the  United  States,  adding  a  new  sense  of 
obligation  to  my  feeling  of  gratitude. 

In  the  stirring  questions  that  have  agitated  the  country,  it  was 
my  misfortune  sometimes  to  differ  from  him,  but  it  is  a  matter  of 
heartfelt  gratification  for  me  to  know  that  our  personal  relations 
remained  unaltered.  And,  sir,  it  will  be  a  source  of  pleasant 
though  sad  reflection  to  me,  throughout  life,  to  remember,  that  on 
the  last  day  on  which  he  occupied  his  seat  in  this  chamber,  his 
body  worn  down  by  disease,  but  his  mind  as  vigorous  as  ever,  we 
held  a  somewhat  extended  conversation  on  the  exciting  topics  of 
the  day,  in  which  the  same  kind  feelings,  which  had  so  strongly 
impressed  me  in  youth,  were  still  manifested  toward  me  by  the 
veteran  statesman.  But,  sir,  he  is  gone  from  among  us  ;  his  voice 
will  never  again  be  heard  in  this  chamber  ;  his  active  and  vigo- 
rous mind  will  participate  no  more  in  our  councils  ;  his  spirit  has 
left  a  world  of  trouble,  care,  and  anxiety,  to  join  the  spirits  of 
those  patriots  and  statesmen  who  have  preceded  him  to  a  bright- 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  25 

er  and  better  world.  If,  as  many  believe,  the  spirits  of  the  de- 
parted hover  around  the  places  they  have  left,  I  earnestly  pray 
that  his  may  soon  be  permitted  to  look  back  upon  our  country, 
which  he  has  left  in  excitement,  confusion,  and  apprehension, 
restored  to  calmness,  security,  and  fraternal  feeling,  as  broad  as 
the  bounds  of  our  Union,  and  as  fixed  as  the  eternal  principles 
of  justice  in  which  our  Government  has  its  foundation. 

Mr.  Clemens. — I  do  not  expect,  Mr.  President,  to  add  any- 
thing to  what  has  already  been  said  of  the  illustrious  man,  whose 
death  we  all  so  deeply  deplore  ;  but  silence  upon  an  occasion  like 
this,  Would  by  no  means  meet  the  expectations  of  those  whose 
representative  I  am.  To  borrow  a  figure  from  the  Senator  from 
Kentucky,  the  brightest  star  in  the  brilliant  galaxy  of  the  Union 
has  gone  out,  and  Alabama  claims  a  place  among  the  chief 
mourners  over  the  event.  Differing  often  from  the  great  South- 
ern statesman  orf  questions  of  public  policy,  she  has  yet  always 
accorded  due  homage  to  his  genius,  and  still  more  to  that  blame- 
less purity  of  life  which  entitles  him  to  the  highest  and  the  no- 
blest epitaph  which  can  be  graven  upon  a  mortal  tomb.  For  / 
more  than  forty  years  an  active  participant  in  all  the  fierce  strug-  [ 
gles  of  party,  and  surrounded  by  those  corrupting  influences  to 
which  the  politician  is  so  often  subjected,  his  personal  character 
remained  not  only  untarnished,  but  unsuspected.  He  walked 
through  the  flames,  and  even  the  hem  of  his  garment  was  un- 
scorched. 

It  is  no  part  of  my  purpose  to  enter  into  a  recital  of  the  public 
acts  of  John  C.  Calhoun.  It  has  already  been  partly  done  by 
his  colleague  ;  but,  even  that,  in  my  judgment,  was  unnecessary. 
Years  after  the  celebrated  battle  of  Thermopylae,  a  traveller,  on 
visiting  the  spot,  found  a  monument  with  the  simple  inscription, 
'•Stranger,  go  tell  at  Lacedaemon  that  we  died  in  obedience  to  her 
laws."  "  Why  is  it,"  he  asked,  "  that  the  names  of  those  who  fell 
here  are  not  inscribed  on  the  stone  ?"  "  Because,"  was  the  proud 
reply,  "  it  is  impossible  that  any  Greek  should  ever  forget  them." 
Even  so  it  is  with  him  of  whom  I  speak.     His  acts  are  graven 


26  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE 

on  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen,  and  time  has  no  power  to  oblit- 
erate the  characters.     Throughout  this  broad  land 

"  The  meanest  rill,  the  mightiest  river, 
Rolls  mingling  with  his  fame  forever." 

Living,  sir,  in  an  age  distinguished  above  all  others  for  its  in- 
telligence, surrounded  throughout  his  whole  career  by  men,  any 
one  of  whom  would  have  marked  an  era  in  the  world's  history, 
and  stamped  the  time  in  which  he  lived  with  immortality,  Mr. 
Calhoun  yet  won  an  intellectual  eminence,  and  commanded  an 
admiration  not  only  unsurpassed  but  unequalled,  in  all  its  parts, 
by  any  of  his  giant  compeers.  That  great  light  is  now  extin- 
guished ;  a  place  in  this  Senate  is  made  vacant  which  cannot  be 
filled.  The  sad  tidings  have  been  borne  upon  the  lightning's 
wing  to  the  remotest  corners  of  the  Republic,  and  millions  of  free- 
men are  now  mourning  with  us  over  all  that  is  left  of  one  who 
was  scarcely  "  lower  than  the  angels." 

I  may  be  permitted,  Mr.  President,  to  express  my  gratifica- 
tion at  what  we  have  heard  and  witnessed  this  day.  Kentucky 
has  been  heard  through  the  lips  of  one  who  is  not  only  her 
greatest  statesman,  but  the  world's  greatest  living  orator.  The 
great  expounder  of  the  constitution,  whose  massive  intellect 
seems  to  comprehend  and  give  clearness  to  all  things  beneath  the 
sun,  has  spoken  for  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts.  From 
every  quarter  the  voice  of  mourning  is  mingled  with  notes  of  the 
highest  admiration.  These  crowded  galleries,  the  distinguished 
gentlemen  who  fill  this  floor,  all  indicate  that  here  have 

"  Bards,  artists,  sages,  reverently  met, 

To  waive  each  separating  plea 

Of  sect,  clime,  party,  and  degree, 

AH  honoring  him  on  whom  nature  all  honor  shed." 

The  resolutions  were  then  unanimously  adopted. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  27 

Tuesday,  April  2,  1850. 
The  remains  of  the  deceased  were  brought  into  the  Senate  at 
12  o'clock,  attended  by  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  and  the 
Pall-bearers. 

Committee  of  Arrangements. 


Mr.  MASON, 

Mr.  DAVIS,  of  Miss. 

Mr.  ATCHISON, 


Mr.  MANGUM, 
Mr.  CLAY, 
Mr.  WEBSTER, 


Mr.  DODGE,  of  Wisconsin, 
Mr.  DICKINSON, 
Mr.  GREENE. 

Pall-Bearers. 

Mr.  CASS, 
Mr.  KING, 
Mr.  BERRIEN. 

The  funeral  cortege  left  the  Senate  chamber  for  the  Congres- 
sional Burial-Ground,  where  the  body  was  temporarily  deposited, 
in  the  following  order : 

The  Chaplains  of  both.  Houses  of  Congress. 
Physicians  who  attended  the  deceased. 
Committee  of  Arrangements. 
Pall-Bearers. 
The  family  and  friends  of  the  deceased. 
The  Senator  and  Representatives  from  the  State  of  South  Caro- 
lina, as  mourners. 
The  Sergeant-at-Arms  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
The  Senate  of  the  United  States,  preceded  by  the  Vice  President 
of  the  United  States 'and  their  Secretary. 
The  Sergeant-at-Arms  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
The  House  of  Representatives,  preceded  by  their  Speaker  and 

Clerk. 

The  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  Heads  of  Departments. 

The  Chief  Justice  and  Associate  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court 

of  the  United  States  and  its  officers. 

The  Diplomatic  Corps. 

Judges-of  the  United  States. 

Officers  of  the  Executive  Departments. 

Officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy. 

The  Mayor  and  Councils  of  Washington. 

Citizens  and  Strangers. 


A  SERMON 

PREACHED  IN  THE  SENATE  CHAMBER, 

APRIL  2,  1850, 

AT  THE  FUNERAL  OF  THE 

HON.  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN, 

SENATOR  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  FROM  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

BY  THE  REV.  C.  M.  BUTLER,  D.  D., 

CHAPLAIN  OF  THE  SENATE. 


I  have  said  ye  are  gods,  and  all  of  yon  are  children  of  the  Most  High ; 
hut  ye  shall  die  like  men,  and  fall  like  one  of  the  princes — Psalm 
lxxxii.  6,  7. 

One  of  the  princes  is  fallen  !  A  prince  in  intellect ;  a  prince 
in  his  sway  over  human  hearts  and  minds ;  a  prince  in  the 
wealth  of  his  own  generous  affections,  and  in  the  rich  revenues 
of  admiring  love  poured  into  his  heart ;  a  prince  in  the  dignity 
of  his  demeanor — this  prince  has  fallen — fallen ! 

And  ye  all,  his  friends  and  peers,  illustrious  statesmen,  orators, 
and  warriors — "  I  have  said  ye  are  gods,  and  all  of  you  are  chil- 
dren of  the  Most  high ;  but  ye  shall  die  like  men,  and  fall  like 
this  one  of  the  princes  !" 

The  praises  of  the  honored  dead  have  "been,  here  and  else- 
where, fitly  spoken.  The  beautifully  blended  benignity,  dignity, 
simplicity,  and  purity  of  the  husband,  the  father  and  the  friend  ; 
the  integrity,  sagacity,  and  energy  of  the  statesman  j  the  com- 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  29 

pressed  intenseness,  the  direct  and  rapid  logic  of  the  orator ;  all 
these  have  been  vividly  portrayed  by  those  who  themselves  illus- 
trate what  they  describe.  There  seem  still  to  linger  around  this 
hall  echoes  of  the  voices,  which  have  so  faithfully  sketched  the 
life,  so  happily  discriminated  the  powers,  and  so  affectionately 
eulogized  the  virtues  of  the  departed,  that  the  muse  of  history 
will  note  down  the  words,  as  the  outline  of  her  future  lofty  nar- 
rative, her  nice  analysis,  and  her  glowing  praise. 

But  the  echo  of  those  eulogies  dies  away.  All  that  was  mor- 
tal of  their  honored  object  lies  here  unconscious,  in  the  theatre 
of  his  glory.  "Lord  of  the  lion  heart  and  eagle  eye" — there  he 
lies  !  that  strong  heart  still,  that  bright  eye  dim !  Another  voice 
claims  your  ear.  The  minister  of  God,  standing  over  the  dead, 
is  sent  to  say — "  Ye  are  gods,  and  all  of  you  are  children  of  the 
Most  High  ;  but  ye  shall  die  like  men,  and  fall  like  one  of  the 
princes."  He  is  sent  to  remind  you  that  there  are  those  here,  not 
visible  to  the  eye  of  sense,  who  are  greater  than  the  greatest  of 
ye  all — even  Death,  and  Death's  Lord  and  Master. 

Death  is  here.  I  see  him  stand  over  his  prostrate  victim,  and 
grimly  smile,  and  shake  at  us  his  unsated  spear,  and  bid  us  all 
attend  this  day  on  him.  He  is  King  to-day,  and  leads  us  all 
captive  in  his  train,  to  swell  his  triumph  and  proclaim  his  power. 
And  there  is  no  visitant  that  can  stand  before  the  soul  of  man, 
with  such  claims  on  his  awed,  intent,  and  teachable  attention. — - 
When,  as  on  a  day,  and  in  a  scene  like  this,  he  holds  us  in  his 
presence  and  bids  us  hear  him — who  can  dare  to  disregard  his 
mandate  ?  Oh,  there  is  no  thought  or  fact,  having  reference  to 
this  brief  scene  of  things,  however  it  may  come  with  a  port  and 
tone  of  dignity  and  power,  which  does  not  dwindle  into  mean- 
ness, in  the  presence  of  that  great  thought,  that  great  fact,  which 
has  entered  and  darkened  the  Capitol  to-day — Death  !  To 
make  us  see  that  by  a  law  perfectly  inevitable  and  irresistible, 
soul  and  body  are  soon  to  separate  ;  that  this  busy  scene  of  earth 
is  to  be  suddenly  and  forever  left ;  that  this  human  heart  is  to 
break  through  the  circle  of  warm,  congenial,  familiar  and  foster- 
ing sympathies  and  associations,  and  to  put  off,  all  alone,  into 


30  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE 

the  silent  dark — this  is  the  object  of  the  dread  message  to  us  of 
death.  And  as  that  message  is  spoken  to  a  soul  which  is  con- 
scious of  sin ;  which  knows  that  it  has  not  within  itself  resources 
for  self-purification,  and  self-sustaining  peace  and  joy ;  which 
realizes,  in  the  very  core  of  its  conscience,  retribution  as  a  moral 
law ;  it  comes  fraught  with  the  unrest,  which  causes  it  to  be  at 
once  dismissed,  or  which  lodges  it  in  the  soul,  a  visitant  whose 
first  coming  is  gloom,  but  whose  continued  presence  shall  he  glo- 
ry. Then  the  anxious  spirit,  peering  out  with  intense  earnest- 
ness into  the  dark  unknown,  may,  in  vain,  question  earth  of  the 
destiny  of  the  soul,  and  lift  to  heaven  the  passionate  invocation — 

u  Answer  me,  burning  stars  of  night, 

Where  hath  the  spirit  gone  ; 
Which,  past  the  reach  of  mortal  sight, 

E'en  as  a  breeze  hath  flown  ?" 

And  the  stars  answer  him,  "  We  roll 

In  pomp  and  power  on  high ; 
But  of  the  never  dying  soul, 

Ask  things  that  cannot  die  !'3 

"  Things  that  cannot  die  !"  God  only  can  tell  us  of  the  spirit- 
world.  He  assures  us,  by  his  Son,  that  death  is  the  child  of  sin. 
He  tells  us  what  is  the  power  of  this  king  of  terrors.  He  shows 
us  that  in  sinning  "  Adam  all  die."  He  declares  to  us  that,  sin- 
ful by  nature  and  by  practice,  we  are  condemned  to  death  ;  that 
we  are  consigned  to  wo  ;  that  we  are  unfit  for  Heaven ;  that  the 
condition  of  the  soul  which  remains  thus  condemned  and  un- 
changed, is  far  drearier  and  more  dreadful  beyond,  than  this  side, 
the  grave.  No  wonder  that  men  shrink  from  converse  with 
death ;  for  all  his  messages  are  woful  and  appalling. 

But,  thanks  be  to  God !  though  death  be  here,  so  also  is 
death's  Lord  and  Master.  "  As  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in 
Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive."  That  Saviour,  Christ,  assures 
us  that  all  who  repent,  and  forsake  their  sins,  and  believe  in  him, 
and  live  to  him,  shall  rise  to  a  life  glorious  and  eternal;  with  Him 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  31 

and  His,  in  Heaven.  He  tells  us  that  if  we  are  his,  those  sharp 
shafts  which  death  rattles  in  our  ears  to-day,  shall  but  transfix, 
and  only  for  a  season,  the  garment  of  our  mortality ;  and  that  the 
emancipated  spirits  of  the  righteous  shall  be  borne,  on  angel 
wings,  to  that  peaceful  paradise  where  they  shall  enjoy  perpetual 
rest  and  felicity.  Then  it  need  not  be  a  gloomy  message  which 
we  deliver  to  you  to-day,  that  "  ye  shall  die  as  men  and  fall  like 
one  of  the  princes  ;"  for  it  tells  us  that  the  humblest  of  men  may 
be  made  equal  to  the  angels,  and  that  earth's  princes  maybe  come 
"  kings  and  priests  unto  God  !" 

In  the  presence  of  these  simplest  yet  grandest  truths ;  with 
these  thoughts  of  death,  and  the  conqueror  of  death  ;  with 
this  splendid  trophy  of  his  power  proudly  held  up  to  our 
view  by  death,  I  need  utter  to  you  no  commonplace  on  the 
vanity  of  our  mortal  life,  the  inevitableness  of  its  termination, 
and  the  solemnities  of  our  after-being.  Here  and  now,  on 
this  theme,  the  silent  dead  is  preaching  to  you  more  impres- 
sively than  could  the  most  eloquent  of  the  living.  You  feel  now, 
in  your  inmost  heart,  that  that  great  upper  range  of  things  with 
which  you  are  connected  as  immortals  ;  that  moral  administra- 
tion of  God,  who  stretches  over  the  infinite  of  existence ;  that  mag- 
nificent system  of  ordered  governments,  to  whose  lower  circle  we 
now  belong,  which  consists  of  thrones,  dominions,  principalities, 
and  powers,  which  rise, 

"  Orb  o'er  orb,  and  height  o'er  height," 
to  the  enthroned  Supreme ; — you  feel  that  this,  your  high  rela- 
tion to  the  Infinite  and  Eternal,  makes  poor  and  low  the  most  au- 
gust and  imposing  scenes  and  dignities  of  earth,  which  flit,  like 
shadows,  through  your  three-score  years  and  ten.  Oh  happy 
will  it  be,  if  the  vivid  sentiment  of  the  hour  become  the  actuating 
conviction  of  the  life  !  Happy  will  it  be,  if  it  take  its  place  in  the 
centre  of  the  soul,  and  inform  all  its  thoughts,  feelings,  principles, 
and  aims  !  Then  shall  this  lower  system  of  human  things  be 
consciously  linked  to,  and  become  part  of,  and  take  glory  from 
that  spiritual  sphere,  which,  all  unseen,  encloses  us,  whose  actors 
and  heroes  are  "  angels  and  archangels,  and  all  the  company  of 


32  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE 

Heaven."  Then  would  that  be  permanently  and  habitually  felt 
by  all,  which  was  here,  and  in  the  other  chamber  yesterday  so  el- 
oquently expressed,  that  "  vain  are  the  personal  strifes  and  party 
contests  in  which  you  daily  engage,  in  view  of  the  great  account 
which  you  may  all  so  soon  be  called  upon  to  render  ;"*  and  that 
it  is  unbecoming  and  presumptuous  in  those  who  are  "  the  tenants 
of  an  hour  in  this  earthly  abode,  to  wrestle  and  struggle  together 
with  a  violence  which  would  not  be  justifiable  if  it  were  your  per- 
petual home."f  Then,  as  we  see  to-day,  the  sister  States,  by 
their  Representatives,  linked  hand  in  hand,  in  mournful  attitude, 
around  the  bier  of  one  in  whose  fame  they  all  claim  a  share,  we 
should  look  upon  you  as  engaged  in  a  sacrament  of  religious  pa- 
triotism, whose  spontaneous,  unpremeditated  vow,  springing  con- 
sentient from  all  your  hearts,  and  going  up  unitedly  to  Heaven, 
would  be — "  Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  inse* 
parable !" 

But  I  must  no  longer  detain  you.     May  we  all 

"  So  live,  that  when  our  summons  comes  to  join 
The  innumerable  caravan,  that  moves 
To  that  mysterious  realm,  where  each  shall  take 
His  chamber  in  the  silent  halls  of  death, 
We  go  not  like  the  quarry-slave  at  night 
Scourged  to  his  dun6eon,  but,  sustained  and  soothed 
By  an  unfalteriDg  trust,  approach  our  grave 
Like  one  who  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams." 

*  Mr.  "VVinthrop's  speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
t  Mr.  Clay's  speech  in  he  Senate. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  33 

In  the  Senate  of  the  U.  S.  ) 
April  3d,  1850.  \ 
Resolved,  As  a  mark  of  the  respect  entertained  by  the  Senate, 
for  the  memory  of  the  late  John  Caldwell  Calhoun,  a  Sena- 
tor from  South  Carolina,  and  for  his  long  and  distinguished  ser- 
vice in  the  Public  Councils,  that  his  remains  be  removed  at  the 
pleasure  of  his  surviving  family,  in  charge  of  the  Sergeant-at- 
arms,  and  attended  by  a  committee  of  the  Senate,  to  the  place 
designated  for  their  interment,  in  the  bosom  of  his  native  State ; 
and  that  such  committee,  to  consist  of  six  Senators,  be  appointed 
by  the  President  of  the  Senate,  who  shall  have  full  power  to  car- 
ry the  foregoing  resolution  into  effect. 

(Attest.)  ASBURY  DICKINS,  Secretary. 


In  the  Senate  op  the  U.  S. 
April  4th,  1850. 
In  pursuance  of  the  foregoing  resolution, 


Mr.  MASON, 

Mr.  DAYIS,  op  Mississippi, 

Mr.  BERRIEN, 

were  appointed  the  committee. 

(Attest.)  ASBURY  DICKENS,  Secretary. 


Mr.  WEBSTER, 
Mr.  DICKINSON,  and 
Mr.  DODGE,  op  Iowa, 


In  the  Senate  op  the  U..S.      ) 
April  9,  1850.    \ 

Mr.  Webster  having  been,  on  his  motion,  excused  from  serving 
on  the  committee  to  attend  the  remains  of  the  late  John  C.  Cal- 
houn to  the  State  of  South  Carolina :  On  motion  by  Mr.  Mason, 
Ordered,  That  a  member  be  appointed  by  the  Vice  President  to 
supply  the  vacancy,  and  Mr.  Clarke  was  appointed. 

(Attest.)  ASBURY  DICKINS,  Secretary. 

3 


34  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE 

In  the  Senate  of  the  U.  S.      ) 
April  3d,  1850.    jj 
Resolved,  That  the  Vice  President  be  requested  to  communi- 
cate to  the  Executive  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  informa- 
tion of  the  death  of  the  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun,  late  a  Senator 
from  the  said  State. 

(Attest.)  ASBURY  DICKINS.  Secretary. 


Senate  Chamber,  \ 

April  3d,  1850.  \ 
Sir  : — In  pursuance  of  a  resolution  of  the  Senate,  a  copy  of 
which  is  enclosed,  it  becomes  my  duty  to  communicate  to  you, 
the  painful  intelligence  of  the  decease  of  the  Hon.  John  Cald- 
well Calhoun,  late  a  Senator  of  the  United  States  from  the 
State  of  South  Carolina,  who  died  in  this  city,  the  31st  ultimo. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

MILLARD  FILLMORE, 
Vice  President  of  the  U.  S.  and 
President  of  the  Senate. 
His  Excellency, 

Governor  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina, 

Columbia. 


Senate  of  the  U.  S.         1 
Washington  City,  April  4, 1850.      \ 

To  His  Excellency,    Whitcmarsh  B.  Seabrook, 

Governor  of  South  Carolina. 
Sir  : — I  have  the  honor  to  make  known  to  you,  that  a  commit- 
tee of  the  Senate  has  been  appointed  to  attend  the  remains  of 
their  late  honored  associate,  Mr,  Calhoun,  to  the  place  that 
may  be  designated  for  his  interment  in  his  native  State,  when  the 
surviving  family  shall  express  a  wish  for  their  removal. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  35 

It  is  desirable  to  the  committee  to  know  whether  this  removal 
is  contemplated  by  them ;  and  should  it  be,  that  they  be  inform- 
ed as  soon  as  may  be,  (but  entirely  at  the  convenience  of  the  fami- 
ly) when  they  may  desire  it. 

Knowing  the  deep  interest  that  will  be  taken  by  the  State  of 
South  Carolina  in  the  matter  spoken  of,  I  take  the  liberty,  by  this 
note,  of  asking  that  you  will  at  proper  time  learn  what  may  be 
necessary  to  answer  the  foregoing  inquiry,  and  apprise  me,  as 
Chairman  of  the  committee,  a  few  days  in  advance. 
With  great  respect, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

<fcc.  &c.  &c. 

J.  M.  MASON. 


Washington,  April  16,  1850. 
His  Excellency,  Whitemarsh  B.  Seabrook, 

Governor  of  South  Carolina. 
Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  let- 
ter of  the  11th  inst.  handed  to  me  by  Mr.  Ravenel ;  and  on  behalf 
of  my  associates  on  the  committee  of  the  Senate  and  of  myself, 
to  accept  the  hospitalities  you  have  kindly  proffered  to  us  on 
behalf  of  the  State,  on  our  arrival  in  South  Carolina. 

We  are  directed,  by  the  order  of  the  Senate,  to  attend  the  re- 
mains of  Mr.  Calhoun  "  to  the  place  designated  for  their  inter- 
ment in  hif  native  State" — a  duty  we  expect  strictly  to  dis- 
charge, and  are  gratified  to  find  by  your  communication,  that  it 
will  be  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  your  fellow  citizens  of 
Carolina. 

Mr.  Ravenel,  of  the  committee  of  South  Carolina,  will  have 
apprized  you  of  the   time  of  our  probable  arrival  in  Charleston, 
which  we  learn  will  be  on  Thursday,  the  25th  of  this  month. 
With  great  respect, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

<fec.  &c.  (fee. 
J.  M.  MASON,  Chair.  Com.  Senate. 


PROCEEDINGS 


IN   THE 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 


In  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Washington,  April  1st,  1850. 

Mr.  Vinton,  rising,  said  that  the  House  might  soon  expect  to 
receive  the  usual  message  from  the  Senate,  announcing  the  mel- 
ancholy event  occurring  yesterday,  (the  death  of  the  honorable 
Senator  Calhoun.)  Instead  of  proceeding  with  the  ordinary 
business  of  legislation,  he  would  therefore  move  the  suspension 
of  the  rules,  that  the  House  might  take  a  recess  until  the  Senate 
were  ready  to  make  that  communication. 

The  question  on  this  motion  being  put,  it  was  unanimously 
agreed  to. 

So  the  House  then  took  a  recess  until  one  o'clock  and  ten  min-. 
utes,  p.  m.  at  which  hour  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate,  Mr.  Dick- 
ins,  appearing  at  the  bar, 

The  Speaker  called  the  House  to  order. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Senate  then  announced  that  he  had  been 
directed  to  communicate  to  the  House  information  of  the  death 
of  John  C.  Calhoun,  of  South  Carolina,  late  a  Senator  from  the 
State  of  South  Carolina,  and  delivered  the  resolutions  adopted  by 
the  Senate  on  the  occasion. 

Mr.  Holmes,  of  South  Carolina,  rose  and  addressed  the  House 
as  follows : 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES.  37 

It  becomes,  Mr.  Speaker,  my  solemn  duty  to  announce  to  this 
House  the  decease  of  the  honorable  John  C.  Calhoun,  a  Sena- 
tor of  the  State  of  South  Carolina.  He  expired  at  his  lodgings  in 
this  city  yesterday  morning,  at  seven  o'clock.  He  lives  no  lon- 
ger among  the  living ;  he  sleeps  the  sleep  of  a  long  night  which 
knows  no  dawning.  The  sun  which  rose  so  brightly  on  this 
morning,  brought  to  him  no  healing  in  its  beams. 

We,  the  Representatives  of  our  State,  come  to  sorrow  over  the 
dead  ;  but  the  virtue  and  the  life  and  the  services  of  the  deceased, 
were  not  confined  by  metes  and  bounds ;  but  standing  on  the 
broad  expanse  of  this  Confederacy,  he  gave  his  genius  to  the 
States,  and  his  heart  to  his  entire  country.  Carolina  will  not, 
therefore,  be  suffered  to  mourn  her  honored  son  in  secret  cells  and 
solitary  shades  ;  but  her  sister  States  will  gather  around  her  in 
this  palace  of  the  nation,  and  bending  over  that  bier,  weep  as 
she  weeps,  and  mourn  with  the  deep,  afflictive  mourning  of  her 
heart.  Yes,  sir,  her  honored  son — honored  in  the  associations  of 
his  birth,  which  occurred  when  the  echoes  and  the  shouts  of  free- 
dom had  not  yet  died  along  his  native  hills,  born  of  parents  who 
had  partaken  of  the  toils,  been  affected  by  the  struggles,  and 
fought  in  the  battles  for  liberty — seemed  as  if  he  were  baptized 
in  the  very  fount  of  freedom.  Reared  amid  the  hardy  scenery 
of  nature,  and  amid  the  stern,  pious,  and  reserved  population, 
unseduced  yet  by  the  temptations,  and  unnerved  by  the  luxu- 
ries of  life,  he  gathered  from  surrounding  objects  and  from  the 
people  of  his  association,  that  peculiar  hue  and  coloring  which  so 
transcendently  marked  his  life.  Unfettered  by  the  restraints  of 
the  school  house,  he  wandered  in  those  regions  which  surroun- 
ded his  dwelling,  unmolested,  and  indulged  those  solitary 
thoughts,  in  rambling  through  her  mighty  forests,  which  gave 
that  peculiar  cast  of  thinking  and  reflection  to  his  mighty  soul. 
He  was  among  a  people  who  knew  but  few  books,  and  over 
whose  minds  learning  had  not  yet  thrown  its  effulgence.  But 
they  had  the  Bible  ;  and  with  his  pious  parents,  he  gathered  rich 
lore,  which  surpasses  that  of  Greek  or  Roman  story.  At  an  age 
when  youths  are  generally  prepared  to  scan  the  classics,  he  was 


38  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE 

yet  uninitiated  in  their  rudiments.  Under  the  tuition  of  the  ven- 
erable Doctor  Waddel,  his  relative  and  friend,  he  quickly  ac- 
quired what  that  gentleman  was  able  to  impart,  and  even  then 
began  to  develop  those  mighty  powers  of  clear  perception,  rapid 
analysis,  quick  comprehension,  vast  generalization,  for  wnich  he 
was  subsequently  so  eminently  distinguished.  He  remained  but 
a  very  short  time  at  his  school,  and  returned  again  to  his  rustic 
employments.  But  the  spirit  had  been  awakened — the  inspira- 
tion had  come  like  to  a  spirit  from  on  high  ;  and  he  felt  that  with- 
in him  were  found  treasures  that  learning  was  essential  to  un- 
fold. He  gathered  up  his  patrimony,  he  hastened  to  the  College 
of  Yale,  and  there,  under  the  tuition  of  that  accomplished  scho- 
lar and  profound  theologian,  Rev.  Dr.  Dwight,  he  'became  in  a 
short  period,  the  first  among  the  foremost,  indulging  not  in  the 
enjoyments,  in  the  luxuries,  and  the  dissipations  of  a  college  life, 
but  with  toil  severe,  with  energy  unbending,  with  devotion  to 
his  studies,  he  became  (to  use  the  language  of  a  contemporary) 
"  a  man  among  boys."  In  a  conflict  intellectual  with  his  great 
master,  the  keen  eye  of  Dr.  Dwight  discerned  the  [great  qualifi- 
cations which  marked  the  man,  and  prophesied  the  honors  that 
have  fallen  in  his  pathway.  He  was  solitary,  and  associated 
not  much  with  his  class.  He  indulged  his  propensity  to'  soli- 
tude ;  he  walked  among  the  elms  that  surround  that  ancient  col- 
lege ;  and  in  the  cells,  in  the  secret  shades  of  that  institution,  he 
felt  that  dawning  on  his  mind  which  was  to  precede  the  brighter 
and  the  greater  day ;  and  raising  himself  from  the  materiality 
around  him,  he  soared  on  the  wings  of  contemplation  to  heights 
sublime,  and  wending  his  flight  along  the  zodiac,  raised  his  head 
among  the  stars.  The  honors  of  the  college  became  his  meed, 
and  departing  thence  with  the  blessings  and  the  benedictions  of 
his  venerable  instructor,  he  repaired  for  a  short  period  to  the 
school  of  Litchfield,  and  there  imbibed  those  principles  of  the 
common  law,  based  upon  the  rights  of  man,  and  throwing  a  cor- 
don around  the  British  and  the  American  citizen.  He  left,  and 
upon  his  return  home  was  greeted  by  the  glowing  presence  of 
his  friends,  who  had  heard  from  a  distance  the  glad  tidings  of  his 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES.  39 

studies  and  his  success.  He  took  at  once  his  position  among  his 
neighbors.  He  was  sent  by  them  to  the  councils  of  the  State  ; 
and  there,  amid  the  glittering  array  of  lofty  intellects  and  eno- 
bled  characters,  he  became  first  among  the  first. 

But  that  sphere  was  too  limited  for  the  expansibility  of  a  mind 
which  seemed  to  know  no  limit  but  the  good  of  all  mankind.  At 
the  age  of  twenty  eight,  he  was  transferred  to  this  hall.  He 
came  not,  sir,  to  a  bower  of  ease ;  he  came  not  in  the  moment 
of  a  sunshine  of  tranquility ;  he  came  when  the  country  was 
disturbed  by  dissention  from  within,  and  pressed  out  by  the  great 
powers  of  Europe,  then  contending  for  the  mastery  of  the  world, 
and  uniting  and  harmonizing  in  this,  and  this  alone — the  de- 
struction of  American  institutions,  the  annihilation  of  American 
trade.  The  whole  country  (boy  as  I  then  was,  I  well  remember) 
seemed  as  if  covered  with  an  eternal  gloom.  The  spirits  of  the 
best  men  seemed  crushed  amid  that  pressure,  and  the  eye  of 
hope  scarce  found  consolation  in  any  prospect  of  the  future.  But 
he  had  not  been  long  in  these  halls,  before  he  took  the  guage  and 
measurement  of  the  depth  of  these  calamities,  and  the  compass 
of  its  breadth.  He  applied  himself  most  vigorously  to  the  appli- 
cation of  the  remedies  to  so  vital  a  disease.  He  found  that  mis- 
taken policy  had  added  to  the  calamities  on  the  ocean,  that  still 
further  calamity  of  fettering,  with  a  restrictive  system,  the  very 
motions  and  energies  of  the  people.  He  looked  down  and  saw 
that  there  was  a  mighty  pressure,  a  great  weight  upon  the  re- 
sources of  this  country,  which  time  had  gradually  increased,  and 
he  resolved  at  once,  with  that  resolution  which  characterized 
him— with  that  energy  which  impelled  him  direct  to  his  pur- 
pose— to  advise  what  was  considered  a  remedy  too  great  almost 
for  the  advice  of  any  other — once,  weak  as  we  were  in  numbers, 
unprepared  as  we  were  in  arms,  diminished  as  were  our  resour- 
ces, to  bid  defiance  to  Britain,  and  assume  the  attitude  of  a  con- 
flicting nation  for  its  rights. 

Fortunately  for  the  country,  that  advice  was  taken,  and  then 
the  great  spirit  of  America,  released  from  her  shackles,  burst  up 
and  made  her  leave  her  incumbent,  prostrate  condition,  and  stand 


40  PROO.LjIHJL'J.1>V^O     Ax*       x 

erect  before  the  people  of  the  world,  and  shake  her  spear  in  bold 
defiance.  In  that  war,  his  counsels  contributed  as  much,  I  am 
informed,  as  those  of  any  man,  to  its  final  success.  At  a  period 
when  our  troops  on  the  frontier,  under  the  command  of  the  Go,- 
vernor  of  New  York,  were  about  to  retire  from  the  line,  and  that 
Governor  had  written  to  Mr.  Madison  that  he  had  exhausted  his 
own  credit,  and  the  credit  of  all  those  whose  resources  he  could 
command,  and  his  means  were  exhausted,  and  unless  in  a  short 
period  money  was  sent  on  to  invigorate  the  troops,  the  war  must 
end,  and  our  country  bow  down  to  a  victorious  foe ;  sir,  upon 
that  occasion,  Mr.  Madison  became  so  disheartened,  that  he  as- 
sembled his  counsellors,  and  asked  for  advice  and  aid,  but  advice 
and  aid  they  had  not  to  give.  At  length  Mr.  Dallas,  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury,  said  to  Mr.  Madison — you  are  sick  ;  retire 
to  your  chamber ;  leave  the  rest  to  us.  I  will  send  to  the  Capi- 
tol for  the  youthful  Hercules,  who  hitherto  has  borne  the  war 
upon  his  shoulders,  and  he  will  counsel  us  a  remedy.  Mr.  Cal- 
houn came.  He  advised  an  appeal  to  the  States  for  the  loan  of 
their  credit.  It  seemed  as  if  a  new  light  had  burst  upon  the  ca- 
binet. His  advice  was  taken.  The  States  generously  responded 
to  the  appeal.  These  were  times  of  fearful  import.  We  were 
engaged  in  war  with  a  nation  whose  resources  were  ample,  while 
ours  were  crippled.  Our  ships-of-war,  few  in  number,  were  com- 
pelled to  go  forth  on  the  broad  bosom  of  the  deep,  to  encounter 
those  fleets  which  had  signalized  themselves  at  the  battles  of 
Abouker  and  Trafalgar,  and  annihilated  the  combined  navies  of 
France  and  Spain.  But  there  was  an  inward  strength — there 
was  an  undying  confidence — in  the  hearts  of  a  free  people  ;  and 
they  went  forth  to  battle  and  to  conquest. 

Sir,  the  clang  of  arms  and  the  shouts  of  victory  had  scarcely 
died  along  the  dark  waters  of  the  Niagara — the  war  upon  the 
plains  of  Orleans  had  just  gone  out  with  a  blaze  of  glory — when 
all  eyes  were  instinctively  turned  to  this  youthful  patriot,  who 
had  rescued  his  country  in  the  dark  hour  of  her  peril.  Mr.  Mon- 
roe transferred  him  to  his  Cabinet ;  and  upon  that  occasion,  so 
confused  was  the  Department  of  War,  so  complicated  and  disor- 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES.  41 

dered,  that  Mr.  Wm.  Lowndes,  a  friend  to  Mr.  Calhoun,  advi- 
sed him  against  risking  the  high  honors  he  had  achieved  upon 
this  floor,  for  the  uncertain  victories  of  an  Executive  position. — 
But  no  man  had  pondered  more  thoroughly  the  depths  of  his 
own  mind  and  the  purposes  of  his  own  heart — none  knew  so 
well  the  undaunted  resolution  and  energy  that  always  charac- 
terized him  ;  and  he  resolved  to  accept,  and  did.  He  related  to 
me  what  was  extremely  characteristic ;  he  went  into  the  Depart- 
ment, but  became  not  of  it  for  awhile.  He  gave  no  directions — 
he  let  the  machinery  move  on  by  its  own  impetus.  In  the  mean 
time  he  gathered,  with  that  minuteness  which  characterized  him, 
all  the  facts  connected  with  the  working  of  the  machinery — ■ 
with  that  power  of  generalization  which  was  so  remarkable,  com- 
bined together  in  one  system  all  the  detached  parts,  instituted 
the  bureaus,  imparting  individual  responsibility  to  each,  and  re- 
quiring from  them  that  responsibility  in  turn,  but  uniting  them 
all  in  beautiful  harmony,  and  creating  in  the  workings  a  perfect 
unity.  And  so  complete  did  that  work  come  from  his  hands, 
that  at  this  time  there  has  been  no  change  material  in  this  de- 
partment. It  has  passed  through  the  ordeal  of  another  war,  and 
it  still  remains  fresh,  and  without  symptoms  of  decay.  He  knew 
that  if  we  were  to  have  wars,  we  should  have  the  science  to 
conduct  them ;  and  he  therefore  directed  his  attention  to  West 
Point,  which,  fostered  by  his  care,  became  the  great  school  of 
tactics  and  of  military  discipline,  the  benefits  of  which  have  so 
lately  been  experienced  in  the  Mexican  campaign. 

But,  sir,  having  finished  this  work,  his  mind  instinctively 
looked  for  some  other  great  object  on  which  to  exercise  its  pow- 
ers. He  beheld  the  Indian  tribes,  broken  down  by  the  pressure 
and  the  advances  of  civilization,  wasting  away  before  the  vices, 
and  acquiring  none  of  the  virtues,  of  the  white  man.  His  heart 
expanded  with  a  philanthropy  as  extensive  as  the  human  race. 
He  immediately  conceived  the  project  of  collecting  them  into  one 
nation,  of  transfering  them  to  the  other  side  of  the  great  river, 
and  freeing  them  at  once  from  the  temptations  and  the  cupidity 
of  the  Christian  man. 


42  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE 

Sir,  he  did  not  remain  in  office  to  accomplish  this  great  object. 
But  he  had  laid  its  foundation  so  deep,  he  had  spread  out  his 
plans  so  broad,  that  he  has  reared  to  himself,  in  the  establish- 
ment of  that  people,  a  brighter  monument,  more  glorious  tro- 
phies, than  can  be  plucked  upon  the  plains  of  war.  The  tri- 
umphs of  war  are  marked  by  desolated  towns  and  conflagrated 
fields ;  nis  triumphs  will  be  seen  in  the  collection  of  the  Indian 
tribes,  constituting  a  confederation  among  themselves,  in  the 
schoolhouses  in  the  valleys,  in  the  churches  that  rise  with  their 
spires  from  the  hill-top,  in  the  clear  sunshine  of  Heaven.  The 
music  of  that  triumph  is  not  heard  in  the  clangor  of  the  trumpet, 
and  the  rolling  of  the  drum,  but  swells  from  the  clang  of  the  an- 
vil, and  the  tones  of  the  water-wheel,  and  the  cadence  of  the  mill- 
stream,  that  rolls  down  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  red  man. 

Sir,  he  paused  not  in  his  career  of  usefulness ;  he  was  trans- 
ferred, by  the  votes  of  a  grateful  people,  to  the  chair  of  the  se- 
cond office  of  the  government.  There  he  presided  with  a  firm- 
ness, an  impartiality,  with  a  gentleness,  with  a  dignity,  that  all 
admired.  And  yet  it  is  not  given  unto  man  to  pass  unscathed 
the  fiery  furnace  of  this  world.  While  presiding  over  that  body 
of  ambassadors  from  sovereign  States,  while  regulating  their 
councils,  the  tongue  of  calumny  assailed  him,  and  accused  him 
of  official  corruption  in  the  Riprap  contract.  Indignantly  he  left 
the  chair,  demanded  of  the  Senators  an  immediate  investigation 
by  a  committee,  and  came  out  of  the  fire  like  gold  refined  in  the 
furnace.  From  that  time  to  the  day  that  terminated  his  life,  no 
man  dared  to  breathe  aught  against  the  spotless  purity  of  his 
character. 

But  while  in  that  chair,  Mr.  Calhoun  perceived  that  there 
was  arising  a  great  and  mighty  influence  to  over-shadow  a  por- 
tion of  this  land.  From  a  patriotic  devotion  to  his  country,  he 
consented  on  this  floor,  in  1816,  upon  the  reduction  of  the  war 
duties,  to  a  gradual  diminution  of  the  burdens,  and  thus  saved 
the  manufacturers  from  annihilation.  But  that  interest,  then  a 
mere  stripling,  weak,  and  requiring  nurture,  fostered  by  this  ali- 
ment, soon  increased  in  strength,  and  became  potent,  growing 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES.  43 

with  a  giant's  growth,  and  attained  a  giant's  might,  and  was  in- 
clined tyrannously  to  use  it  as  a  giant.  He  at  once  resigned  his 
seat,  gave  up  his  dignified  position,  mingled  in  the  strifes  of  the 
arena,,  sounded  the  toscin  of  alarm,  waked  up  the  attention  of 
the  South,  himself  no  less  active  than  those  whom  he  thus 
aroused,  and  at  length  advised  his  own  State,  heedless  of  danger, 
to  throw  herself  into  the  breach  for  the  protection  of  that  sacred 
Constitution,  whose  every  precept  he  had  imbibed,  whose  every 
condition  he  had  admired.  Sir,  although  hostile  fleets  floated 
in  our  waters,  and  armies  threatened  our  cities,  he  quailed  not ; 
and  at  length  the  pleasing  realization  came  to  him  and  to  the 
country,  like  balm  to  the  wounded  feelings,  and  by  a  generous 
compromise  on  all  parts,  the  people  of  the  South  were  freed  from 
onerous  taxation,  and  the  North  yet  left  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  her 
industry,  and  to  progress  in  her  glorious  advancement  in  all  that 
is  virtuous  in  industry  and  elevated  in  sentiment. 

But  he  limited  not  his  scope  to  our  domestic  horizon.  He  look- 
ed abroad  at  our  relations  with  the  nations.  He  saw  our  in- 
crease of  strength.  He  measured  our  resources,  and  was  willing 
at  once  to  settle  all  our  difficulties  with  foreign  powers  on  a  per- 
manent basis.  With  Britain  we  had  causes  of  contention,  of 
deep  and  long  standing.  He  resolved,  if  the  powers  of  his  in- 
tellect could  avail  aught  before  he  departed  hence,  that  these 
questions  should  be  settled  for  a  nation's  honor  and  a  nation's 
safety.  He  faltered  not.  I  know  (for  I  was  present)  that  when 
the  Ashburton  treaty  was  about  to  be  made — when  there  were 
apprehensions  in  the  cabinet  that  it  would  not  be  sanctioned  by 
the  Senate — a  member  of  that  cabinet  called  to  consult  Mr.  Cal- 
houn, and  to  ask  if  he  would  give  it  his  generous  support.  The 
reply  of  Mr.  Calhoun  at  that  moment  was  eminently  satisfacto- 
ry, and  its  annunciation  to  the  cabinet  gave  assurance  to  the  dis- 
tinguished Secretary  of  State,  who  so  eminently  had  conducted 
this  important  negotiation.  He  at  once  considered  the  work  as 
finished  ;  for  it  is  the  union  of  action  in  the  intellectual,  as  in  the 
physical,  world  that  moves  the  spheres  into  harmony. 

When  the  treaty  was  before  the  Senate,  it  was  considered  in 


44  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE 

secret  session  ;  and  I  never  shall  forget,  that  sitting  upon  yonder 
side  of  the  House,  the  colleague  of  Mr.  Calhoun — who  at  that 
time  was  not  on  social  terms  with  him — my  friend,  the  honorable 
Mr.  Preston,  whose  heart  throbbed  with  an  enthusiastic  love  of 
all  that  is  elevated — left  his  seat  in  the  Senate,  and  came  to  my 
seat  in  the  House,  saying  "  I  must  give  vent  to  my  feelings  :  Mr. 
Calhoun  has  made  a  speech  which  has  settled  the  question  of 
the  Northeastern  boundary.  All  his  friends — nay,  all  the  Sena- 
tors— have  collected  around  to  congratulate  him,  and  I  have  come 
out  to  express  my  emotions,  and  declare  that  he  has  covered  him- 
self with  a  mantle  of  glory." 

Sir,  after  a  while,  he  retired  from  Congress  ;  but  the  unfortu- 
nate accident  on  board  the  Princeton,  which  deprived  Virginia 
of  two  of  her  most  gifted  sons,  members  of  the  cabinet,  imme- 
diately suggested  the  recall  of  Mr.  Calhoun  from  his  retirement 
in  private  life,  and  the  shades  of  his  own  domicil,  to  aid  the  coun- 
try in  a  great  exigency.  His  nomination  as  Secretary  of  State 
was  sent  to  the  Senate,  and,  without  reference  to  a  committee,  was 
unanimously  confirmed.  Sir,  when  he  arrived  here,  he  perceiv- 
ed that  the  Southern  country  was  in  imminent  peril,  and  that  the 
arts  and  intrigues  of  Great  Britain  were  about  to  wrest  from  us 
that  imperial  territory  which  is  now  the  State  of  Texas.  By  his 
wisdom,  and  the  exercise  of  his  great  administrative  talents,  the 
intrigues  of  Great  Britain  were  defeated,  and  that  portion  of  the 
sunny  South  was  soon  annexed  to  this  Republic. 

With  the  commencement  of  Mr.  Polk's  administration,  he  re- 
tired once  more  from  public  life,  but  he  retired  voluntarily.  Mr. 
Buchanan  (for  I  might  as  well  relate  the  fact)  called  upon  me, 
took  me  to  the  embrasure  of  one  of  those  windows,  and  said  :  "  I 
am  to  be  Secretary  of  State  ;  the  President  appreciates  the  high 
talents  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  considers  the  country  now  encir- 
cled by  danger  upon  the  Oregon  question.  Go  to  Mr.  Calhoun, 
and  tender  to  him  the  mission  to  the  Court  of  St.  James — special 
or  general,  as  he  may  determine — with  a  transfer  of  the  Oregon 
question  entirely  to  his  charge." 

Never  can  I  forget  how  the  muscles  of  his  face  became  tense, 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES.  45 

how  his  great  eye  rolled,  as  he  received  the  terms  of  the  propo- 
sal. "  No,  sir — no,  (he  replied.)  If  the  embassies  of  all  Europe 
were  clustered  into  one,  I  would  not  take  it  at  this  time ;  my 
country  is  in  danger ;  here  ought  to  be  the  negotiation,  and 
here  will  I  stand,"  Sir,  he  retired  to  his  farm  ;  but  the  President 
in  his  inaugural,  had  indicated  so  strongly  his  assertion  of  the 
entirety  of  the  Oregon  treaty  ;  had  inspirited  the  people  of  the 
West  almost  to  madness,  and  in  like  manner  had  dispirited  the 
merchants  of  the  East,  and  of  the  North  and  South,  that  a  pre- 
sentiment of  great  dangers  stole  over  the  hearts  of  the  people, 
and  a  war  seemed  inevitable,  with  the  greatest  naval  power  of 
the  earth.  Impelled  by  their  apprehensions,  the  merchants  sent 
a  message  to  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  begged  him  again  to  return  to 
the  councils  of  the  nation.  His  predecessor  generously  resigned. 
He  came,  and  when  he  came,  though  late,  he  beheld  dismay  on 
the  countenances  of  all.  There  was  a  triumphant  majority  in 
both  parts  of  this  Capitol  of  the  Democratic  party,  who,  with  a 
few  exceptions,  were  for  carrying  out  the  measures  of  Mr.  Polk. 
The  Whigs,  finding  that  they  were  too  few  to  stem  the  current, 
refused  to  breast  themselves  to  the  shock.  But  when  Mr.  Cal- 
houn announced  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  the  day  after  his  ar- 
rival, his  firm  determination  to  resist  and  save  from  the  mad- 
ness of  the  hour,  this  great  country,  they  immediately  rallied, 
and  soon  his  friends  in  this  House  and  in  the  Senate  gathered 
around  him,  and  the  country  was  safe.  Reason  triumphed,  and 
the  republic  was  relieved  of  the  calamities  of  a  war.  This  was 
the  last  great  work  he  ever  consummated. 

But  he  saw  other  evils ;  he  beheld  this  republic  about  to  lose 
its  poise  from  a  derangement  of  its  weights  and  levers ;  he  was 
anxious  to  adjust  the  balance,  and  to  restore  the  equilibrium  ;  he 
exercised  his  mind  for  that  purpose  ;  he  loved  this  Union,  for  I 
have  often  heard  him  breathe  out  that  love  ;  he  loved  the  equal- 
ity of  the  States,  because  he  knew  that  upon  that  equality  rested 
the  stability  of  the  government ;  he  admired  that  compact — the 
Constitution  of  our  fathers — and  esteemed  it  as  a  great  cove- 


46  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE 

nant  between  sovereign  States,  which  if  properly  observed,  would 
make  us  the  chosen  people  of  the  world. 

At  length  the  acting  of  the  spirit  chafed  the  frail  tenement  of 
mortality,  and  to  the  eye  of  his  friends,  the  tide  of  life  began  to 
ebb  ;  but,  sir,  with  an  undying  confidence  in  his  powers — with 
a  consciousness  of  the  dangers  which  encircled  his  physical  na- 
ture, but  without  regardto  his  own  sufferings,  in  the  solitudes  of 
disease,  unable  in  the  midst  of  disease  even  to  hold  a  pen,  he 
dictated  his  last  great  speech.  That  speech  has  gone  forth  to  the 
world,  and  the  judgment  of  that  world  will  now  impartially  be 
stamped  upon  it. 

Sir,  when  his  health  began  gradually  to  recover,  his  spirit  im- 
pelled him,  against  the  advice  of  his  friends,  into  the  Senate 
chamber ;  and  there,  with  a  manliness  of  purpose,  with  a  deci- 
sion of  tone^  with  a  clearness  of  argument,  with  a  rapidity  of 
thought,  he  met  and  overthrew  his  antagonists  one  by  one,  as 
they  came  up  to  the  attack.  But  weakened  by  the  strife,  al- 
though he  retired  victorious  and  encircled  with  a  laurel  wreath, 
he  fell  exhausted  by  his  own  efforts,  and  soon  expired  on  the 
plains.  And  now  where  is  he  ?  Dead,  dead,  sir  ;  lost  to  his 
country  and  his  friends. 

"For  him  no  more  the  blazing  hearth  shall  burn, 
Nor  wife  nor  children  more  shall  he  behold," 

nor  sacred  home.  But  he  shall  shortly  rest  amid  his  own  native 
hills,  with  no  dirge  but  the  rude  music  of  the  winds,  and  after 
awhile,  no  tears  to  moisten  his  grave  but  the  dews  of  Heaven. 

But  though  dead,  he  still  liveth  ;  he  liveth  in  the  hearts  of  his 
friends,  in  the  memory  of  his  services,  in  the  respect  of  the 
States,  in  the  affections,  the  devoted  affections  of  that  house- 
hold he  cherished.  He  will  live  in  the  tomes  of  time,  as 
they  shall  unfold  their  pages,  rich  with  virtues,  to  the  eyes  of  the 
yet  unborn.  He  lives,  and  will  continue  to  live,  for  countless 
ages,  in  the  advance  of  that  science  to  which,  by  his  intellect,  he 
so  much  contributed,  in  the  disenthralment  of  man  from  the  re- 
strictions of  government,  in  the  freedom  of  intercourse  of  na- 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES.  47 

tions,  and  kindreds,  and  tongues,  which  makes  our  common  mo- 
ther earth  throw  from  her  lap  her  bounteous  plenty  unto  all  her 
children.  And  it  may  be,  that  with  the  example  set  to  other  na- 
tions, there  shall  arise  a  union  of  thought  and  sentiment,  and 
that  the  strong  ties  of  interest,  and  the  silken  cords  of  love,  may 
unite  the  'hearts  of  all,  until  from  the  continents  and  the  isles  of 
the  sea,  there  will  come  up  the  gratulations  of  voices,  that  shall 
mingle  with  the  choral  song  of  the  angelic  host—"  Peace  on 
earth  ;  good  will  to  all  mankind." 

I  move,  sir,  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolutions. 

Resolved,  That  this  House  has  heard  with  deep  sensibility,  the  an- 
nounc:ment  of  the  death  of  the  Hon.  John  C  Calhoun,  a  Senator 
from  the  State  of  South  Carolina. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  testimony  of  respect  for  the  memory  of  the  de- 
ceased, the  members  and  officers  of  this  House  will  wear  the  usual  badge 
of  mourning  for  thirty  days. 

Resolved,  That  the  proceedings  of  this  House,  in  relation  to  the 
death  of  the  Hon.  John  C  Calhoun,  be  communicated  to  the  family 
of  the  deceased,  by  the  Clerk. 

Resolved,  That  this  House  will  attend  the  funeral  of  the  deceased  in 
a  body ;  and,  as  a  further  mark  of  respect  for  his  memory,  that  it  do 
now  adjourn, 

Mr.  Winthrop  rose  to  second  the  resolutions  offered  by  Mr. 
Holmes,  and  proceeded  as  follows : 

I  am  not  unaware,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  the  voice  of  New  Eng- 
land has  already  been  heard  to-day,  in  its  most  authentic  and 
most  impressive  tones,  in  the  other  wing  of  this  Capitol. — • 
But  it  has  been  suggested  to  me,  and  the  suggestion  has  met 
with  the  promptest  assent  from  my  own  heart,  that  here,  also, 
that  voice  should  not  be  altogether  mute  on  this  occasion. 

The  distinguished  person,  whose  death  has  been  announced 
to  us  in  the  resolutions  of  the  Senate,  belonged,  not  indeed,  to  us. 
It  is  not  ours  to  pronounce  his  eulogy.  It  is  not  ours,  certainly, 
to  appropriate  his  fame.  But  it  is  ours  to  bear  witness  to  his 
character,  to  do  justice  to  his  virtues,  to  unite  in  paying  honor  to 


48  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE 

his  memory,  and  to  offer  our  heart-felt  sympathies,  as  I  now  do, 
to  those  who  have  been  called  to  sustain  so  great  a  bereavement. 

We  have  been  told,  sir,  by  more  than  one  adventurous  naviga- 
tor, that  it  was  worth  all  the  privations  and  perils  of  a  protracted 
voyage  beyond  the  line,  to  obtain  even  a  passing  view  of  the 
Southern  Cross — that  great  constellation  of  the  Southern  hemis- 
phere. We  can  imagine,  then,  what  would  be  the  emotions  of 
those  who  have  always  enjoyed  the  light  of  that  magnificent 
luminary,  and  who  have  taken  their  daily  and  their  nightly  di- 
rection from  its  refulgent  rays,  if  it  were  suddenly  blotted  out 
from  the  sky. 

Such,  sir,  and  so  deep,  I  can  conceive  to  be  the  emotions  at 
this  hour,  of  not  a  few  of  the  honored  friends  and  associates 
whom  I  see  around  me. 

Indeed,  no  one  who  has  been  ever  so  distant  an  observer  of  the 
course  of  public  affairs,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  past,  can  fail 
to  realize  that  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude  has  been  struck  from 
our  political  firmament.  Let  us  hope,  sir,  that  it  has  only  been 
transferred  to  a  higher  and  purer  sphere,  where  it  may  shine  on 
with  undimmed  brilliancy  forever  ! 

Mr.  Speaker,  it  is  for  others  to  enter  into  the  details  of  Mr. 
Calhoun's  life  and  services.  It  is  for  others  to  illustrate  and  to 
vindicate  his  peculiar  opinions  and  principles.  It  is  for  me  to 
speak  of  him  only  as  he  was  known  to  the  country  at  large,  and 
to  all,  without  distinction  of  party,  who  have  represented  the 
country  of  late  years,  in  either  branch  of  the  national  councils. 

And  speaking  of  him  thus,  sir,  I  cannot  hesitate  to  say,  that, 
among  what  may  be  called  the  second  generation  of  American 
statesmen,  since  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  there 
has  been  no  man  of  a  more  marked  character,  of  more  pronounc- 
ed qualities,  or  of  a  wider  and  more  deserved  distinction. 

The  mere  length  and  variety  of  his  public  service,  in  almost 
every  branch  of  the  National  Government,  running  through  a 
continuous  period  of  almost  forty  years — as  a  member  of  this 
House,  as  Secretary  of  War,  as  Yice  President  of  the  United 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES.  49 

States,  as  Secretary  of  State,  and  as  Senator  from  his  own  ador- 
ed and  adoring  South  Carolina — would  alone  have  secured  him 
a  conspicuous  and  permanent  place  upon  our  public  records. 

But  he  has  left  better  titles  to  remembrance  than  any  which 
mere  office  can  bestow. 

There  was  an  unsullied  purity  in  his  private  life  ;  there  was 
an  inflexible  integrity  in  his  public  conduct ;  there  was  an  inde- 
scribable fascination  in  his  familiar  conversation ;  there  was  a  con- 
densed energy  in  his  formal  discourse  ;  there  was  a  quickness  of 
perception,  a  vigor  of  deduction,  a  directness  and  a  devotedness  of 
purpose,  in  all  that  he  said,  or  wrote,  or  did  ;  there  was  a  Roman 
dignity  in  his  whole  senatorial  deportment;  which,  together, 
made  up  a  character  which  cannot  fail  to  be  contemplated  and 
admired  to  the  latest  posterity. 

I  have  said,  sir,  that  New  England  can  appropriate  no  part  of 
his  fame.  But  we  may  be  permitted  to  remember  that  it  was  in 
our  schools  of  learning  and  of  law  that  he  was  trained  up  for 
the  great  contests  which  awaited  him  in  the  forum  of  the  Senate 
chamber.  Nor  can  we  forget  how  long  and  how  intimately  he 
was  associated  in  the  Executive  or  deliberative  branches  of  the 
Government  with  more  than  one  of  our  own  most  cherished 
statesmen. 

The  loss  of  such  a  man,  sir,  creates  a  sensible  gap  in  the  pub- 
lic councils.  To  the  State  which  he  represented,  and  the  section 
of  country  with  which  he  was  so  peculiarly  identified,  no  stran- 
ger tongue  may  venture  to  attempt  words  of  adequate  consola- 
tion. But  let  us  hope  that  the  event  may  not  be  without  a  whole- 
some and  healing  influence  upon  the  troubles  of  the  times.  Let 
us  heed  the  voice,  which  comes  to  us  all,  both  as  individuals  and 
as  public  officers,  in  so  solemn  and  signal  a  providence  of  God. 
Let  us  remember  that,  whatever  happens  to  the  Republic,  we 
must  die  !  Let  us  reflect  how  vain  are  the  personal  strifes  and 
partisan  contests  in  which  we  daily  engage,  in  view  of  the  great 
account  which  we  may  so  soon  be  called  on  to  render  !  As  Ci- 
cero exclaimed,  in  considering  the  death  of  Crassus  :  "  Of  alia- 
4 


50  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE 

cemhominum  spent,  fragilem  que  fortunam,  et  inanes  nostras 
contentionesP 

Finally,  sir.  let  us  find  fresh  bonds  of  brotherhood  and  of  union 
in  the  cherished  memories  of  those  who  have  gone  before  us  ; 
and  let  us  resolve  that,  so  far  as  in  us  lies,  the  day  shall  never 
come  when  New  England  men  may  not  speak  of  the  great  names 
of  the  South,  whether  among  the  dead  or  among  the  living,  as 
of  Americans  and  fellow-countrymen  ! 

Mr.  Tenable  rose  and  said :  Mr.  Speaker,  in  responding  to 
the  announcement  just  made  by  the  gentleman  from  South  Caro- 
lina, (Mr.  Holmes,)  I  perform  a  sad  and  melancholy  office.  Did 
I  consult  my  feelings  alone,  I  would  be  silent.  In  the  other  end 
of  this' building  we  have  just  heard  the  touching  eloquence  of 
two  venerable  and  distinguished  Senators,  his  cotemporaries  and 
compatriots.  Their  names  belong  to  their  country  as  well  as  his ; 
and  I  thought,  while  each  was  speaking,  of  the  valiant  warrior, 
clothed  in  armor,  who,  when  passing  the  grave  of  one  with 
whom  he  had  broken  lances  and  crossed  weapons,  dropped  a  tear 
upon  his  dust,  and  gave  testimony  to  his  skill,  his  valor,  and  his 
honor.  He  whose  spirit  has  fled  needs  no  effort  of  mine  to  place 
his  name  on  the  bright  page  of  history,  nor  would  any  eulogy 
which  I  might  pronounce,  swell  the  vast  tide  of  praises  which 
will  flow  perennially  from  a  nation's  gratitude.  The  great  Ame- 
rican statesman  who  has  fallen  by  the  stroke  of  death,  has  left 
the  impress  of  his  mind  upon  the  generations  among  whom  he 
lived — has  given  to  posterity  the  mines  of  his  recorded  thoughts 
to  reward  their  labor  with  intellectual  wealth — has  left  an  exam- 
ple of  purity  and  patriotism  on  which  the  wearied  eye  may  rest, 
"And  gaze  upon  the  great, 
Where  neither  guilty  glory  glows, 
Nor  despicable  state." 

For  more  than  forty  years  his  name  is  conspicuous  in  our  his- 
tory. Born  at  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war,  he  was  in  full 
maturity  to  guide  the  councils  of  his  country  in  our  second  con- 
test with  England.  Never  unmindful  of  her  claims  upon  him, 
he  has  devoted  a  long  life  to  her  service,  and  has  closed  it,  like  a 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES.  51 

gallant  warrior,  with  his  armor  buckled  on  him.  "  Death  made 
no  conquest  of  this  conqueror ;  for  now  he  lives  in  fame,  though 
not  in  life."  The  only  fame,  sir,  which  he  ever  coveted — an  im- 
pulse to  great  and  honorable  deeds — a  fame  which  none  can  de- 
spise who  have  not  renounced  the  virtues  which  deserve  it.  It 
is  at  least  some  relief  to  our  hearts,  now  heaving  with  sighs  at 
this  dispensation  of  Heaven,  that  he  now  belongs  to  bright,  to 
enduring  history ;  for  his  was  one  of  "  the  few,  the  immortal 
names  that  were  not  born  to  die."  Of  his  early  history  the  gen- 
tleman who  preceded  me  has  spoken ;  of  his  illustrious  life,  I 
need  not  speak ;  it  is  known  to  millions  now  living,  and  will  be 
familiar  to  the  world  in  after  times. 

But,  sir,  I  propose  to  say  something  of  him  in  his  last  days. 
Early  in  the  winter  of  1848-'9  his  failing  health  gave  uneasiness 
to  his  friends.  A  severe  attack  of  bronchitis,  complicated  with 
an  affection  of  the  heart,  disqualified  him  for  the  performance  of 
his  senatorial  duties  with  the  punctuality  which  always  distin- 
guished him.  It  was  then  that  I  became  intimately  acquainted 
with  his  mind,  and,  above  all,  with  his  heart.  Watching  by  his 
bedside,  and  during  his  recovery,  I  ceased  to  be  astonished  at  the 
power  which  his  master-mind  and  elevated  moral  feelings  had 
always  exerted  upon  those  who  were  included  within  the  circle 
of  his  social  intercourse.  It  was  a  tribute  paid  spontaneously  to 
wisdom,  genius,  truth.  Patriotism,  honesty  of  purpose,  and  pu- 
rity of  motive,  rendered  active  by  the  energies  of  such  an  intel- 
lect as  hardly  ever  falls  to  any  man,  gathered  around  him  sin- 
cere admirers  and  devoted  friends.  That  many  have  failed  to 
appreciate  the  value  of  the  great  truths  which  he  uttered,  or  to 
listen  to  the  warnings  which  he  gave,  is  nothing  new  in  the  his- 
tory of  great  minds.  Bacon  wrote  for  posterity,  and  men  of  pro- 
found sagacity  always  think  in  advance  of  their  generation. 
His  body  was  sinking  under  the  invasion  of  disease  before  I  formed 
his  acquaintaintance,  and  he  was  passing  from  among  us  before 
I  was  honored  with  his  friendship.  I  witnessed  with  astonish- 
ment the  influence  of  his  mighty  mind  over  his  weak  physical 
structure.     Like  a  powerful  steam  engine  on  a  frail  bark,  every 


52  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE 

revolution  of  the  wheel  tried  its  capacity  for  endurance  to  the  ut- 
most. But  yet  his  mind  moved  on,  and,  as  if  insensible  to 
the  decay  of  bodily  strength,  put  forth,  without  stint,  his  une- 
qualled powers  of  thought  and  analysis,  until  nature  well-nigh 
sunk  under  the  imposition.  His  intellect  preserved  its  vigor 
while  his  body  was  sinking  to  decay.  The  menstruum  retained 
its  powers  of  solution,  while  the  frail  crucible  which  contained  it 
was  crumbling  to  atoms.  During  his  late  illness,  which,  with  a 
short  intermission,  has  continued  since  the  commencement  of 
this  session  of  Congress,  there  was  no  abatement  of  his  intellec- 
tual labors.  They  were  directed  as  well  to  the  momentous  ques- 
tions now  agitating  the  public  mind,  as  to  the  completion  of  a 
work  which  embodies  his  thoughts  on  the  subject  of  government 
in  general  and  our  own  Constitution  in  particular ;  thus  distin- 
guishing his  last  days  by  the  greatest  effort  of  his  mind,  and  be- 
queathing it  as  his  richest  legacy  to  posterity. 

Cheerful  in  a  sick  chamber,  none  of  the  gloom  which  usually 
attends  the  progress  of  disease  annoyed  him ;  severe  in  ascertain- 
ing the  truth  of  conclusions,  because  unwilling  to  be  deceived 
himself,  he  scorned  to  deceive  others ;  skilful  in  appreciating  the 
past,  and  impartial  in  his  judgment  of  the  present,  he  looked  to 
the  future  as  dependant  on  existing  causes,  and  fearlessly  gave 
utterance  to  his  opinions  of  its  nature  and  character ;  the  philo- 
sopher and  the  statesman,  he  discarded  expedients  by  which 
men  "  construe  the  times  to  their  necessities."  He  loved  the  truth 
for  the  truth's  sake,  and  believed  that  to  temporize  is  but  to  in- 
crease the  evil  which  we  seek  to  remove.  The  approach  of  death 
brought  no  indication  of  impatience — no  cloud  upon  his  intellect. 
To  a  friend  who  spoke  of  the  time  and  manner  in  which  it  was 
best  to  meet  death,  he  remarked :  "  I  have  but  little  concern 
about  either ;  I  desire  to  die  in  the  discharge  of  my  duty ;  I  have 
an  unshaken  reliance  upon  the  providence  of  God." 

I  saw  him  four  days  after  his  last  appearance  in  the  Senate 
chamber,  gradually  sinking  under  the  power  of  his  malady,  with- 
out one  murmer  at  his  affliction,  always  anxious  for  the  interest 
of  his  country,  deeply  absorbed  in  the  great  question  which   agi- 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES.  53 

tates  the  public  mind,  and  earnestly  desiring  its  honorable  adjust- 
ment, unchanged  in  the  opinions  which  he  had  held  and  uttered 
for  many  years,  the  ardent  friend  of  the  Union  and  the  Constitu- 
tion, and  seeking  the  perpetuity  of  our  institutions,  by  inculca- 
ting the  practice  of  justice  and  the  duties  of  patriotism. 

Aggravated  symptoms,  on  the  day  before  his  death,  gave  no- 
tice of  his  approaching  end.  I  left  him  late  at  night,  with  but 
faint  hopes  of  amendment ;  and,  on  being  summoned  early  the 
next  morning,  I  found  him  sinking  in  the  cold  embrace  of  death; 
calm,  collected,  and  conscious  of  his  situation,  but  without  any 
symptom  of  alarm,  his  face  beaming  with  intelligence,  without 
one  indication  of  suffering  or  of  pain.  I  watched  his  counte- 
nance, and  the  lustre  of  that  bright  eye  remained  unchanged,  un- 
til the  silver  cord  was  broken,  and  then  it  went  out  in  instanta- 
neous eclipse.  When  I  removed  my  hand  from  closing  his  eyes 
he  seemed  as  one  who  had  fallen  into  a  sweet  and  refreshing 
slumber.  Thus,  sir,  closed  the  days  of  John  Caldwell  Cal- 
houn, the  illustrious  American  statesman.  His  life  and  services 
shall  speak  of  the  greatness  of  by-gone  days  with  undying  testi- 
mony. Another  jewel  has  fallen  from  our  crown  ;  an  inscruta- 
ble Providence  has  removed  from  among  us  one  of  the  great 
lights  of  the  age.  But  it  is  not  extinguished.  From  a  height  to 
which  the  shafts  of  malice  or  the  darts  of  detraction  never  reach, 
to  which  envy  cannot  crawl,  or  jealousy  approach,  it  will  shine 
brighter  and  more  gloriously;  sending  its  rays  over  a  more  exten- 
ded horizon,  and  blessing  mankind  by  its  illumination.  The 
friend  of  constitutional  liberty  will  go  to  his  writings  for  truth 
and  to  his  life  for  a  model.  We,  too,  should  be  instructed  by  his 
experience,  while  his  presages  for  the  future  should  infuse  cau- 
tion into  our  counsels,  and  prudence  into  our  actions.  His  voice, 
now  no  more  heard  in  the  Senate,  will  speak  most  potentially 
from  the  grave.  Personal  opposition  has  died  with  his  death. 
The  aspiring  cannot  fear  him,  nor  the  ambitious  dread  his  eleva- 
tion. His  life  has  become  history,  and  his  thoughts  the  property 
of  his  countrymen. 

Sir,  while  we  weep  over  his  grave,  let  us  be  consoled  by  the 


54  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE 

assurance  that  "  honor  decks  the  turf  that  wraps  his  clay."  He 
was  our  own,  and  his  fame  is  also  ours.  Let  us  imitate  his  great 
example,  in  preferring  truth  and  duty  to  the  approbation  of  men, 
or  the  triumphs  of  party.  Be  willing  to  stand  alone  for  the  right, 
nor  surrender  independence  for  any  inducement.  He  was 
brought  up  in  the  society  of  the  men  of  the  Revolution,  saw  the 
work  of  our  Constitution  since  its  formation,  was  profoundly 
skilled  in  construing  its  meaning,  and  sought  by  his  wisdom 
and  integrity  to  give  permanency  to  the  Government  which  it 
created.  If  such  high  purposes  be  ours,  then  our  sun,  like  his, 
will  go  down  serenely,  and  we  shall  have  secured  "  a  peace  above 
all  other  dignities — a  calm  and  quiet  conscience." 

The  question  was  then  taken  on  the  resolutions  offered  by  Mr. 
Holmes,  and  they  were  unanimously  agreed  to. 

And  thereupon  the  House  adjourned. 


REPORT 


OP 


THE  COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE. 


Charleston,  May  24th,  1850. 
His  Excellency,  Whitemarsh  B.  Seabrook, 

Governor  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina, 

Dear  Sir  : — I  have  received  your  Excellency's  note  of  the 
29th  ultimo,  addressed  to  me,  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Twenty-five,  on  the  removal  of  the  remains  of  the  Hon.  John 
C.  Calhoun  ;  and  desiring  of  me,  "  as  early  as  my  convenience 
may  permit,  a  narrative  of  the  occurrences  on  the  way,  from  the 
day  of  our  leaving  Charleston,  to  the  time  when  the  body  was 
surrendered  to  you." 

Your  note  has  been  laid  before  the  committee,  and  with  their 
concurrence,  the  following  report  is  respectfully  submitted. 

The  committee  was  appointed  by  your  Excellency,  under  the 
second  resolution  of  the  meeting  held  in  this  city,  on  the  eve- 
ning of  the  2d  ultimo,  to  give  expression  to  the  public  sorrow, 
on  the  death  of  the  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun.  We  were  desired 
"  to  proceed  to  Washington,  to  procure  and  bring  home  his  re- 
mains, and  to  co-operate  in  all  other  measures  for  their  final  dis- 
position." 

On  the  5th  ult.  the  day  the  committee  met  to  organize,  our 
newspapers  announced  the  appointment,  by  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  of  a  committee  of  six  members  of  that  distinguish- 
ed body,  to  take  charge  of  the  remains  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  to 
attend  them  to  their  final  resting  place  in  his  native  State.  [This 
high  honor  modified  the  duty  which  had  been  assigned  to  us.    It 


56  REPORT  OF  THE 

had  become  the  office  of  the  Senators,  to  convey  and  deliver  the 
remains ;  ours,  in  manifestation  of  the  respect  of  our  people,  to 
attend  them  as  mourners. 

A  general  understanding  in  reference  to  the  melancholy  duty 
to  be  performed,  was  held  by  correspondence,  between  the  Hon. 
James  M.  Mason,  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of  the  Senate, 
and  the  chairman  of  this  committee ;  and  under  a  resolution  of 
the  latter,  three  of  our  number  were  requested  to  proceed  to 
Washington,  to  confer  with  the  committee  of  the  Senate,  and 
keep  our  authorities  and  committee  at  home  advised  of  their  ar- 
rangements. The  chairman  being  one  of  this  sub-committee, 
H.  A.  DeSaussure,  Esq.  was  appointed  chairman  pro  tempore  of 
the  committee  of  twenty-five. 

The  departure  of  the  sub-committee,  however,  was  to  be  de- 
ferred until  Mrs.  Calhoun  should  have  been  consulted,  and  her 
desires  ascertained  respecting  the  removal  and  ultimate  dispo- 
sition of  the  remains.  This  object  having  been  effected,  and 
her  acquiescence  in  the  measures  proposed  by  your  Excellency 
received,  the  sub-committee,  consisting  of  the  chairman,  and 
Messrs.  A.  Huger  and  C.  G.  Memminger,  proceeded  to  Washing- 
ton, and  arrived  there  on  the  13th  and  14th  April. 

Mr.  Mason,  the  Chairman  of  the  Senate's  committee,  had  been 
called  by  business  from  Washington.  He  returned  on  the  15th, 
and  on  the  next  morning  his  committee  met,  and  appointed 
Monday,  the  22nd  April,  as  the  day  of  departure  with  their 
solemn  charge.  Communications  by  telegraph  to  the  committee, 
through  Mr.  DeSaussure,  the  Chairman  pro  tern,  gave  informa- 
tion of  this  arrangement,  and  of  our  expectation  that  the  cor- 
tege would  arrive  in  Charleston  on  Thursday  morning,  the  25th 
April. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  sub-committee  in  Washington,  they  found 
all  the  public  buildings  draped  with  emblems  of  mourning,  by 
order  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  ;  and  their  reception 
by  the  committee  of  the  Senate,  and  by  other  distinguished  citi- 
zens, manifested  the  deep  interest  felt  in  the  purpose  of  their  visit. 

On  the  morning  of  the  16th  April,  Robert  Beale,  Esq.  Sergeant- 


COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE.  57 

at-arms  of  the  Senate,  called  on  the  suh-committe  by  direction 
of  the  committee  of  the  Senate,  to  express  their  desire  that  we 
should  consider  ourselves  guests,  during  our  stay  in  Washing- 
ton ;  informed  us  that  apartments  had  been  provided  for  our  ac- 
commodation, and  requested  us  to  appoint  an  hour  to  receive  the 
Committee,  who  would  call  and  conduct  us  to  the  hotel  they  had 
selected.  We  accordingly  named  an  hour,  at  which  they  called 
with  carriages,  and  conducted  us  to  the  City  Hotel,  introduced 
us  to  a  private  parlour  and  comfortable  rooms,  informed  us  that 
instructions  had  been  given  to  meet  our  directions  in  all  respects, 
and  that  a  carriage  would  be  in  waiting  subject  to  our  orders. 

The  invitation  was  extended  to  our  associates  of  the  commit- 
tee of  twenty-five,  to  consider  themselves  guests  on  their  arrival, 
with  information  that  like  arrangements  would  be  made  for  their 
comfort  and  convenience. 

Of  the  twenty-five  gentlemen  originally  named  on  the  com- 
mittee, four  were  deprived,  by  circumstances,  of  the  privilege  of 
uniting  in  the  duties  of  our  appointment,  viz :  Messrs.  Henry 
W.  Conner,  Arthur  P.  Hayne,  A.  G.  Magrath  and  James  Gads- 
den ;  and  in  their  stead,  Messrs.  George  S.  Bryan,  Matthew  I. 
Keith,  P.  H.  Seabrook  and  J.  E.  Leland,  joined  us  by  your  Ex- 
cellency's request. 

Twenty  members  of  the  committee  arrived  in  Washington  on 
Saturday,  the  20th  April,  and  were  met  at  the  landing  by  the 
Sergeant-at-arms  with  carriages,  and  conducted  to  the  lodgings 
provided  for  them.  These  gentlemen  had  been  expected  on  the 
previous  day,  and  the  Sergeant-at-arms  was  at  the  landing  to 
receive  them.  But  their  passage  from  Charleston  had  been  bois- 
terous, and  they  arrived  at  Wilmington  after  the  cars  had  left  it. 
It  thus  became  necessary  for  them  to  remain  in  Wilmington  till 
the  next  day.  They  were  immediately  requested  to  consider 
themselves  the  guests  of  the  city ;  and  enjoyed  the  kindest  at- 
tentions from  the  authorities  and  citizens.  These  attentions  were 
acknowledged  by  the  committee,  in  resolutions  adopted  at  Wil- 
mington, and  communicated  by  Mr.  DeSaussure,  the  Chairman 
pro  tern. 


58  REPORT  OF  THE 

All  of  our  committee  were  now  in  Washington,  excepting  two, 
the  Hon.  Wm.  Aiken,  who  was  unexpectedly  detained,  and  Jno. 
E.  Carew,  Esq.  who  accompanied  his  colleagues  as  far  as  Rich- 
mond, where  he  received  information  hy  telegraph  of  the  sud- 
den illness  of  his  father,  which  obliged  him  to  return. 

We  were  joined  on  our  way  homeward,  at  Wilmington,  by 
Mr.  Aiken,  and  at  the  wharf  in  Charleston,  by  Mr.  Carew.  Our 
number  therefore  was  complete  during  the  ceremonies  in  Charles- 
ton. 

Two  of  the  sons  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  Mr.  Andrew  Pickens  Cal- 
houn, and  Maj.  Patrick  Calhoun,  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  accompanied 
the  committee  of  twenty-five  from  Charleston  to  Washington, 
and  were  received  by  the  committee  of  the  Senate  as  guests. — 
Their  presence  at  all  the  ceremonies  incident  to  our  mournful 
duty,  deepened  their  solemnity. 

To  the  Sergeant-at-arms,  the  immediate  charge  of  the  remains, 
from  the  vault  in  Washington  to  their  delivery  in  South  Caro- 
lina, had  been  committed  by  the  Senators.  To  six  respectable 
attendants,  selected  by  him,  had  been  assigned  the  duty  of  bear- 
ing them  whenever  removed  during  the  journey.  The  remains 
were  enclosed  in  an  iron  coffin,  furnished  with  six  handles, 
which  rendered  the  transfer  from  one  conveyance  to  another, 
safe  and  convenient, 

In  accordance  with  a  programme  issued  by  the  Hon.  Chair- 
man of  the  Senate  committee,  the  remains  were  brought  to  the 
eastern  front  of  the  Capitol  at  8  o'clock,  on  Monday  morning,  the 
22d  April,  in  charge  of  the  Sergeant-at-arms  and  his  attend, 
ants,  all  in  full  suits  of  black.  The  committee  of  the  Senate, 
with  the  two  sons  of  the  deceased,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Tenable,  of 
North  Carolina,  and  the  Hon.  Mr.  Holmes,  of  South  Carolina, 
members  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  invited  by  the  Sen- 
ate's committee  to  join  the  escort ;  the  committee  of  South  Car- 
olina, and  many  distinguished  citizens,  were  in '  attendance. — 
These,  in  a  long  train  of  carriages,  followed  the  hearse  in  slow 
procession  from  the  steps  of  the  Capitol,  along  the  south  side  of 
Capitol  Hill  and  down  the  Maryland  Avenue,  and  thence  to  the 


COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE.  59 

wharf  on  the  Potomac,  where  the  steamer  Baltimore  awaited  us. 
The  steamer  bore  appropriate  insignia  of  the  melancholy  service 
she  was  to  perform,  both  the  exterior  and  interior  being  shroud- 
ed in  mourning.  The  body  was  carried  on  board  and  placed 
in  the  upper  saloon,  which  had  been  prepared  for  its  reception, 
and  for  the  accommodation  of  the  committees  and  friends. 

Immediately  after  this,  the  corpse  of  a  young  gentleman  re- 
cently  appointed  a  Cadet  at  West  Point,  a  son  of  the  Hon.  H. 
W.  Hilliard,  of  Alabama,  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, was  brought  in  and  placed  by  that  of  Mr.  Calhoun.  The 
afflicted  parents  were  in  attendance,  and  a  general  sympathy 
with  their  deep  private  grief  was  added  to  the  public  sorrow. 

We  were  now  ready  to  leave  the  city  of  Washington.  Of  the 
committee  of  the  Senate,  five  were  present,  viz  :  the  Hon.  James 
M.  Mason,  of  Virginia,  Chairman,  the  Hon.  Daniel  S.  Dickinson, 
of  New  York,  the  Hon.  John  H.  Clarke,  of  Rhode  Island,  the 
Hon.  Jefferson  Davis,  of  Mississippi,  and  the  Hon.  Augustus  C. 
Dodge,  of  Iowa.  The  Hon.  John  M.  Berrien,  of  Georgia,  had 
been  called  to  Savannah  by  the  illness  of  a  member  of  his  fami- 
ly, but  we  are  gratified  to  say,  that  he  was  enabled  to  meet  his 
colleagues  on  their  arrival  in  Charleston,  and  there  to  unite  with 
them  in  the  solemnities  of  the  occasion. 

Among  the  attendants  on  the  solemn  offices  just  commenced, 
were  the  Hon.  William  Seaton,  the  Mayor  of  Washington,  and 
Lieut.  Thomas  B.  Huger,  of  South  Carolina,  appointed  by  Com- 
modore Parker,  of  the  Home  Squadron,  in  expression  of  his  re- 
spect, to  accompany  the  remains  as  his  flag  officer.  These  gen- 
tlemen attended  us  officially  to  the  landing  on  the  territory  of 
Virginia.  Mr.  Clarke  Mills,  the  artist,  of  this  city,  now  employed 
at  Washington  in  completing  the  equestrian  statue  of  Jackson, 
accompanied  the  committee  of  South  Carolina  by  invitation. — 
The  public  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Mills  for  having  prepared  him- 
self for  perpetuating  not  only  the  head  and  countenance  of  Mr. 
Calhoun,  but  his  manly  form.  A  study  of  his  manner  in  the 
Senate  and  in  private,  with  other  advantages  which  he  has  se- 
cured, will  enable  him  to  apply  his  genius  to  a  representation  in 


60  REPORT  OF  THE 

statuary,  of  this  distinguished  son  of  Carolina,  of  which  we  may 
confidently  anticipate  the  highest  value. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Webster,  one  of  the  six  Senators  first  appointed 
on  the  committee  of  that  body,  who  found  it  necessary  to  ask  to 
be  excused  from  the  duty  which  the  appointment  involved,  was 
nevertheless  desirous  of  paying  a  last  tribute  of  respect  to  the 
memory  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  by  accompanying  us  to  the  landing 
in  Virginia.  The  state  of  his  health  preventing  him,  it  is  due  to 
the  occasion  to  transmit  with  this  report  his  two  notes,  communi- 
cating his  intention,  and  his  reasons  for  relinquishing  it. 

Crowds  of  person  had  collected  to  witness  the  mournful  de- 
parture ;  but  an  unbroken  silence  prevailed  as  our  boat  moved 
from  her  moorings. 

On  approaching  Alexandria,  we  found  the  flags  of  the  ship- 
ping, and  flags  displayed  from  the  public  buildings,  at  half  mast, 
and  in  mourning.  No  incident  of  special  interest  occurred  on  our 
further  progress  down  the  Potomac,  except  the  passing  of  Mount 
Vernon.  As  we  drew  near, the  speed  of  our  boat  was  moderated. 
Moving  slowly  on.  we  paused,  as  it  were,  in  silent  respect. 

Mount  Vernon  belongs  to  history.  It  commands  the  attention 
of  every  traveller.  It  associates,  throughout  the  world,  the  dig- 
nity of  worth  in  private  life  with  all  that  is  rational  in  civil  lib- 
erty, with  all  that  is  wise  in  government,  with  all  that  is  pure 
in  the  service  of  country.  To  us  it  is  sacred  ground,  impressing 
every  mind  with  awe  ;  filling  every  heart  with  gratitude — an  un- 
seen presence  is  there ;  and  no  unhallowed  thought  finds  place. 
Every  packet  that  passes  tolls  its  bell  in  honor  of  the  Father  of 
his  Country.  On  this  occasion,  the  customary  answer  of  the 
heart  was  wrought  into  high  emotion.  We  bore  what  was  mor- 
tal of  one  illustrious  man,  by  all  that  is  mortal  of  the  great  type 
of  illustrious  men.  No  bosom  was  unmoved ;  scarcely  an  eye 
was  tearless.  "  Deep  called  unto  deep,"  as  the  muffled  knell  of 
our  boat  paid  its  passing  tribute. 

Arrived  at  Aquia  Creek,  we  found  in  readiness  a  special  train, 
provided  by  the  Richmond  and  Aquia  Creek  Rail  Road  Compa- 
ny ;  and  deputations  of  distinguished  citizens  from  Richmond  and 


COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE.  61 

from  Fredericksburg,  together  with  a  military  escort  from  the  lat- 
ter city,  awaiting  our  arrival.  The  deputation  from  Fredericks- 
burg were  a  joint  committee  of  officers  of  the  corporation  and  cit- 
izens, and  consisted  of  the  Hon.  R.  B.  Semple,  Mayor,  B.  S. 
Herndon,  Recorder,  John  Minor,  member  of  Council,  Thos.  B. 
Barton,  Commonwealth's  Attorney,  John  J.  Chew,  Clerk,  and  Col. 
Hugh  Mercer  and  Eustace  Conway,  Esq.  citizens.  The  milita- 
ry escort  consisted  of  the  Fredericksburg  Guards,  under  com- 
mand of  Captain  Wm.  S.  Barton. 

The  deputation  from  Richmond  were  the  Hon.  John  Y.  Ma- 
son, J.  Lyons,  G.  A.  Myers,  and  Wm.  F.  Ritchie,  Esquires ;  and 
were  accompanied  by  Edward  Robinson,  Esq.  the  President  of 
the  Richmond  and  Aquia  Rail  Road  Company. 

The  remains  were  landed  on  the  shores  of  Virginia,  and  re- 
ceived with  honors  by  the  deputations  and  by  the  military.  Du- 
ring a  solemn  dirge  by  the  Band  of  the  Fredericksburg  Guards, 
the  remains  were  conveyed  to  a  car  prepared  for  them,  and  for 
the  special  attendants.  The  committees  of  the  Senate  and  of 
South  Carolina,  the  Sons,  and  others  in  attendance  with  the  de- 
putations, were  conducted  to  another  car ;  and  the  Fredericks- 
surg  Guards  preceded  them  in  a  third.  Our  approach  to  Frede- 
ricksburg was  announced  by  minute  guns  ;  our  passage  by  the 
city  honored  by  the  tolling  of  bells  and  solemn  music.  We 
stopped  a  short  time  to  interchange  courtesies  with  the  citizens, 
when  we  proceeded  to  Milford,  at  which  place  we  were  invited 
to  partake  of  a  collation,  and  here  the  deputation  from  Frede- 
ricksburg took  leave  of  us.  Resuming  our  journey,  we  arrived 
at  Richmond  at  half  past  4  o'clock,  P.  M.  and  were  met  at  the 
boundary  of  the  city  by  marshals  on  horseback,  and  by  assem- 
blages which  indicated  a  reception  of  no  ordinary  character. — ■ 
Military  and  civic  honors,  public  and  private  tributes,  were  har- 
moniously combined.  A  hearse,  prepared  for  the  occasion,  with 
solemn  decorations,  and  drawn  by  four  black  horses  appropriate- 
ly clad,  each  led  by  a  groom  in  mourning  ;  a  splendid  military 
escort ;  a  large  procession  of  citizens ;  and  an  array  of  equipages^ 
to  receive  the  committee,  deputations  and  public  officers ;  were 


62  REPORT  OP  THE 

the  manifestations  of  the  general  desire  in  the  capitol  of  Virginia 
to  honor  the  departed,  and  to  show  respect  to  those  who  accom- 
panied his  remains.  The  silence  was  not  once  broken  by  the  im- 
mense throng  of  spectators.  The  stores  and  places  of  business 
were  closed — vthe  bells  were  tolled — the  procession  moved  onward 
to  mournful  dirges  until  it  reached  the  capitol.  Here  the  milita- 
ry were  placed  in  open  order,  and  the  body,  borne  by  the  attend- 
ants, the  several  committees  and  deputations,  the  Governor, 
public  officers,  and  citizens  uncovered,  passed  through  them,  en- 
tered the  capitol,  and  were  conducted  to  the  hall  of  the  House  of 
Delegates,  where  the  remains  were  deposited  for  the  night,  under 
a  military  guard,  appointed  by  his  Excellency  Gov.  Floyd.  The 
solemnity  was  closed  by  a  short  address  and  prayer  from  the  Rev. 
Stephen  Taylor.  This  simple,  touching  ceremony  over,  the  com- 
mittees and  their  friends  were  conducted  in  carriages  to  apart- 
ments provided  for  us  at  the  Exchange  Hotel,  as  the  guests  of 
the  city  ;  at  half  past  7  o'clock,  the  escort  (with  the  exception  of 
the  sons  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  to  whom  a  private  parlor  had  been  as- 
signed) were  conducted  to  dinner.  The  Hon.  John  Y.  Mason, 
the  chairman  of  the  committee  of  citizens,  presided,  assisted  by 
J.  Lyons,  Esq.  His  Excellency  the  Governor  and  Counc  il,  the 
Mayor  and  City  Council  of  Richmond,  and  the  gentlemen  com- 
posing the  deputations  from  other  parts  of  the  State,  being  pre- 
sent. After  dinner,  Judge  Mason  rose,  and  delicately  intimating 
his  unwillingness,  under  the  circumstances  which  had  brought  us 
together,  to  encroach  upon  the  liberty  of  their  guests  to  retire  at 
pleasure,  addressed  the  meeting  as  follows,  viz : 

"  The  gentlemen,  whom  it  is  our  happiness  to  entertain  as  the 
honored  guests  of  the  city  of  Richmond,  are  engaged  in  the  me- 
lancholy duty  of  conveying  the  lifeless  remains  of  an  illustrious 
citizen  from  the  scene  of  his  public  service,  where  he  has  fallen 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  to  their  final  resting  place,  in  the  bo- 
som of  his  native  State.  On  this  mournful  occasion,  the  inter- 
change of  sentiment  common  in  festive  entertainments,  would 
not  be  appropriate ;  but  before  we  separate,  there  is  one  sentiment 
which  I  venture  to  propose — a  sentiment  to  which  the  people  of 


COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE.  63 

Virginia  would  cordially  respond,  and  in  which,  I  am  sure,  all 
present  will  take  pleasure  in  uniting. 

"  Honored  be  the  memory  of  John  Caldwell  Calhoun,  the 
beloved  and  lamented  son  of  South  Carolina  ;  a  son  worthy  of 
the  utmost  love  of  an  adoring  mother." 

The  delicate  compliment  of  the  Chairman  to  the  guests,  and 
the  respect  to  our  State  and  her  lamented  son,  expressed  in  the 
sentiment,  were  acknowledged  by  the  Chairman  of  the  commit- 
tee, in  a  reply  to  the  following  effect,  viz : 

<•  Mr.  Chairman  :  You  have  said  rightly,  that  the  present  is 
not  an  occasion  for  the  interchange  of  sentiment  common  to  fes- 
tive entertainments.  We  have  met  under  mournful  circumstan- 
ces. But  the  sentiment  you  have  been  pleased  to  offer,  accords 
with  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion  ;  and  an  acknowledgment  in 
the  same  spirit,  will  not  be  deemed  inappropriate.  Indeed  I 
should  fail  to  do  justice  to  my  own  feelings,  and,  I  am  very  sure, 
to  the  feelings  of  my  colleagues,  were  I  not  to  embrace  the  op- 
portunity, to  express  our  deep  sense  of  the  respect  shown  to  our 
State  and  to  her  lamented  dead,  not  only  in  the  sentiment  just  of- 
fered, and  in  its  reception,  but  in  the  impressive  ceremonies 
through  which  we  have  this  day  passed.  It  is  impossible,  sir,  to 
dissociate  them.  They  came  together,  and  fill  our  hearts.  Al- 
low me,  then,  for  these  noble  and  generous  tributes,  to  tender 
our  cordial  thanks. 

"  Our  whole  country  has  made  its  offerings  of  honor  to  the  de- 
parted ;  and  we  would  not  indicate  any  insidious  distinction 
among  these  spontaneous  expressions  of  public  feeling.  They 
are  all  acceptable ;  all  valued.  But  under  circumstances  like 
the  present.  I  may  be  permitted,  without  the  risk  of  such  an  im- 
putation, to  ask  from  what  quarter  of  our  wide-spread  country, 
can  sympathy  and  honor  be  more  gratifying,  than  from  the 
Commonwealth  of  Virginia  ?  Virginia,  the  eldest  in  this  sister- 
hood of  States  !  Virginia,  nurtured  in  the  principles  of  a  sound, 
rational,  regulated  liberty !  Virginia,  which  has  at  all  times  fur- 
nished so  ample  a  contingent  of  talent  and  worth,  to  the  service 
of  our  common  country !     Virginia,  whose  soil  intombs  the  Fa- 


64  REPORT  OF  THE 

ther  of  his  Country  !  Associations  such  as  these,  impart  their 
character  to  her  tributes,  and  add  to  the  power  and  comfort  of 
her  sympathy. 

"  I  have  said,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  the  soil  of  your  State  in- 
tombs  the  Father  of  his  Country.  This  privilege  has  conferred 
upon  her  a  distinction  which  all  lands  would  be  proud  to  possess. 
But  let  me  add,  in  reference  to  a  sentiment  I  am  about  to  pro- 
pose, that  she  enjoys  a  higher  and  nobler  distinction — she  educa- 
ted Washington.  Washington  was  a  Providential  man  ;  reared 
up  by  God  for  Providential  purposes ;  purposes  not  confined  to 
one  country,  but  comprehending  in  their  results  the  civil  interests 
of  the  world  ;  not  limited  to  the  age,  but  destined  to  influence 
ages  to  come.  And  Washington  was  the  son  of  Virginia.  Born 
and  nurtured  within  her  borders,  his  character  was  formed,  and 
his  mind  developed  under  her  influences.  He  derived  from  her, 
and  gave  to  her,  his  first  energies.  It  was  through  her  confi- 
dence, and  in  her  service,  that  he  was  prepared  for  his  more  en- 
larged relations ;  for  his  high  destiny ;  his  great  mission.  In 
accordance  with  these  views,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  offer  "The  land 
that  nurtured  Washington." 

Both  sentiments  were  drunk  standing,  and  in  silence ;  and  after 
the  last,  the  company  retired. 

The  two  committees  and  their  friends  enjoyed  every  possible 
comfort  and  attention  at  the  hotel ;  and  in  accordance  with  ar- 
rangements for  resuming  our  journey,  we  were  conducted  in  car- 
riages at  10  o'clock,  on  Tuesday  morning,  to  the  Capitol.  Gov. 
Floyd  was  present,  to  receive  us,  and  to  re-deliver  to  the  commit- 
tee of  the  Senate  the  charge  he  had  taken  for  the  night.  On 
this  occasion  His  Excellency  made  the  following  address,  viz  : 
"  Gentlemen  of  the  Committees  of  Congress, 

and  of  Citizens  of  South  Carolina  : 

u  I  deliver  to  your  hands  the  precious  charge  which,  as  the 
Governor  of  Virginia,  was  deposited  with  me  for  the  night.  Vir- 
ginia has  performed  the  last  sad  office  within  her  power  of  reve- 
rence and  respect  to  the  remains  of  the  honored  dead.    And  I 


COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE.  65 

can  say  for  her  citizens,  that  no  sad  and  sorrowful  duty  could 
have  been  executed  by  them  with  a  more  melancholy  interest. 

"  The  spontaneous  outpouring  of  our  population,  which  you 
witnessed  yesterday,  is  but  a  slight  manifestation  of  the  exaltad 
admiration  which  beats  strong  in  the  bosom  of  the  Common- 
wealth for  the  virtues  and  the  genius  of  the  departed  statesman, 

"  His  virtues  were  enough  to  redeem  this  generation ;  his  ge- 
nius sufficiently  great  to  enrich  the  empire.  But  this  is  not  the 
time  for  eulogy.  In  your  sorrows  and  bereavement  we  offer  you 
all  we  have,  and  all  you  can  receive,  our  deep  and  heart-felt 
sympathy.  Virginia  will  mingle  freely  her  tears  with  those  of 
Carolina,  over  the  fresh  earth  which  is  so  shortly  to  cover  all 
that  can  ever  perish  of  the  illustrious  dead. 

"  I  take  a  mournful  pleasure  in  officiating  personally,  in  these 
ceremonies.  I  knew  him  well,  and  esteemed  him  for  those  vir- 
tues which  won  the  hearts  of  the  nation ;  and  admired  him  for 
that  intellect  which  secured  to  him  the  admiration  of  the  world." 

Mr.  James  M.  Mason,  the  Chairman  of  the  Senate  committee, 
rose  and  said : 

"  Governor  Floyd  : — The  committee  of  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  receive  back  at  your  hands  from  the  State  of  Vir- 
ginia, the  remains  of  their  late  colleague,  the  illustrious  Cal- 
houn. The  solemn  and  imposing  reception  which  awaited 
them  yesterday,  at  the  confines  of  this  city,  by  the  citizens  and 
the  civil  authorities  of  the  City  of  Richmond,  and  their  honored  re- 
pose during  the  past  night  in  the  halls  of  their  Capitol,  under 
the  safe-guard  of  the  State,  most  touchingly  evince  the  deep 
sense  entertained  by  Virginia  of  the  pure  and  lofty  patriotism 
which  ever  guided  him  in  life,  and  will  remain  a  proud  memo- 
rial to  future  ages.  In  discharge  of  the  trust  confided  to  us  by 
the  Senate,  we  shall  pursue  our  melancholy  way,  sir,  to  the  final 
resting  place  allotted  for  his  remains,  in  his  native  State,  bearing 
with  us  a  grateful  sense  of  the  tribute  paid  to  his  memory  at  the 
Capital  of  Virginia,  by  these  imposing  solemnities,  and  of  the 
generous  hospitalities  which  have  been  extended  to  the  entire 
5 


66  REPORT  OF  THE 

escort,  by  the  City  of  Richmond.  Before  taking  leave,  however, 
you  will  allow  me  to  refer  to  the  commitree  of  citizens  of  the 
State  of  South  Carolina,  who  have  been  deputed  to  repair  to 
Washington,  and  to  imite  on  this  sad  occasion,  in  rendering 
merited  honor  to  the  memory  of  her  illustrious  dead  ;  a  deputa- 
tion of  her  most  grave  and  valued  citizens,  whose  presence  here 
most  feelingly  manifests  their  own  profound  respect  for  the 
statesman  who  is  no  more,  whilst  it  testifies  how  deeply  Caroli- 
na mourns  the  loss  of  her  patriot  son — the  gifted  sage — the  vir- 
tuous man,  John  Caldwell  Calhoun." 

The  Chairman  of  our  committee  then  said  : 

"  Governor  Floyd  : — I  am  at  a  loss  for  words  to  express,  for 
myself  and  my  associates  from  South  Carolina,  the  feelings  ex- 
cited by  this  solemn  occasion  ;  and  in  the  attempt  to  give  them 
utterance,  the  sincerity  of  the  heart  must  supply  the  place  of  set 
forms  of  speech. 

We  are  deeply  affected  by  the  honors  with  which  the  remains 
of  the  lamented  dead  were  yesterday  received  at  the  border  of 
Virginia ;  by  the  manifestations  of  respect  during  our  progress ; 
by  the  touching  ceremonies  of  the  reception  here ;  by  those 
through  which  we  are  now  passing ;  and  by  the  kindness  shown 
to  all  who  have  been  deputed  to  the  melancholly  offices  in  which 
we  are  engaged.  These  generous  testimonials  on  the  part  of 
Virginia,  to  the  worth  of  this  cherished  son  of  South  Carolina, 
will  find  a  cordial  answer  from  every  heart  within  his  native 
State. 

"  Senates  and  assemblies  of  the  people  and  distinguished  in- 
dividuals, have  recorded  their  sense  of  the  merits  of  the  depart- 
ed statesman  and  of  the  public  loss.  These  valued  tributes  will 
impress  the  country.  But  those  of  Virginia  are  enhanced  by  her 
sympathy,  so  manifest  at  every  stage  of  our  passage  through  her 
territory. 

"  And,  sir,  her  offerings  are  full  of  associations  of  the  highest 
interest.  They  recall  the  talent  and  worth  which  Virginia  her- 
self has  given  to  the  country.    She  is  the  mother  of  great  men. 


COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE.  67 

Her  sons  walk  by  the  light  of  a  galaxy  of  her  own.  She  has  a 
right  to  praise,  and  we  feel  the  value  of  her  tributes. 

"  Your  Excellency,  and  the  Hon.  Chairman  of  the  committee 
of  Senators,  have  both  been  pleased  to  refer,  in  strong  and  grate- 
ful terms,  to  the  pure  and  elevated  character  of  Mr.  Calhoun. 
Of  all  the  grounds  of  public  favor,  this  is  the  most  gratifying. — 
It  is  the  recognition  of  high  moral  worth  that  gives  to  all  public 
honors  their  chief  value.  Wisdom  may  command,  eloquence 
may  win,  and  station  influence ;  but  it  is  virtue  only  that  conse- 
crates our  powers.  "  Power  to  do  good,"  said  Lord  Bacon,  "  is 
the  true  and  lawful  end  of  all  aspiring."  Ambition,  to  be  virtu- 
ous, must  be  virtuously  directed  ;  and  moral  worth  is  an  essen- 
tial element  in  any  just  standard  of  public  character.  These 
ceremonies,  then,  are  no  mere  pageant.  They  are  the  testimony 
of  public  opinion,  to  high  virtue  guiding  high  intellect.  They 
will  fix  the  attention  of  the  young  on  the  true  grounds  of  all  de- 
sirable distinction.  Let  our  young  men  be  incited  to  virtuous 
distinction ;  let  them  emulate  virtuous  example ;  let  them  draw 
their  fires  from  the  altars  of  a  pure  devotion,  and  our  country 
must  be  safe. 

"  In  taking  leave,  permit  me  to  offer  our  thanks  for  the  part 
which  you  have  taken  personally  in  these  mournful  honors ;  and 
to  express  my  regret  that  the  feelings  appropriate  to  an  occasion 
so  imposing,  have  received  from  me  so  inadequate  an  expres- 
sion." 

A  most  touching  and  solemn  offering  to  the  Throne  of  Grace, 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Reed,  concluded  the  ceremonies  in  the  capitol. 
The  remains  were  then  conveyed  to  the  hearse,  and  the  proces- 
sion being  formed,  we  went  in  carriages,  as  on  the  preceding  day, 
to  the  sounds  of  solemn  music  and  the  tolling  of  bells,  to  the 
Railroad  depot.  We  were  received  in  cars  specially  provided 
and  prepared  for  us,  and  proceeded  to  Petersburg.  We  were  ac- 
companied from  Richmond  to  the  boundary  of  the  State,  by  a 
deputation  appointed  by  his  Excellency,  Gov.  Floyd,  and  con- 
sisting of  T.  T.  Giles,  G.  M.  Carrington,  B.  B.  Minor,  and  H,  C. 


68  REPORT  OF  THE 

Cabell,  Esqrs.  We  arrived  at  Petersburg  about  noon,  and  were 
met  by  his  Honor,  Mr.  Corling,  the  Mayor,  the  entire  magistracy 
and  common  council,  and  by  the  venerable  Judge  May,  the 
Chairman,  and  his  committee  of  citizens,  with  a  large  military 
detachment.  The  whole  cortege  were  accommodated  in  private 
carriages,  followed  by  a  numerous  procession  of  citizens,  to  St. 
Paul's  Church,  on  Walnut  street.  We  found  the  Church  hung 
throughout  in  mourning.  Here  the  remains  were  deposited,  on 
a  bier  in  charge  of  the  military,  to  await  our  departure,  with  the 
regular  train  of  that  evening,  for  Wilmington.  During  the  pro- 
cession every  store  was  closed,  and  some  of  the  houses  exhibited 
badges  of  mourning. 

The  church  was  filled  with  ladies  and  gentlemen,  to  witness 
the  silent  but  impressive  ceremony.  The  committees,  with  all 
associated  with  them,  and  the  deputation  from  Richmond,  were 
conducted  from  the  church  to  the  hotel  at  the  Petersburg  and 
Roanoke  Railroad  depot,  where  we  were  received  as  guests  of 
the  city.  Here  a  sumptuous  dinner  awaited  us,  after  receiving 
the  visits  and  courtesies  of  the  citizens :  The  Hon.  Judge  May, 
Daniel  Lyon,  and  Thomas  Wallace,  Esqrs.  representing  the  city 
at  dinner.  At  8  o'clock  that  evening,  we  proceeded  on  our  way 
to  Weldon,  and  travelled  all  night.  At  about  2  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  Wednesday,  we  reached  Weldon,  whither  a  detach- 
ment from  four  uniform  companies  of  Petersburg,  under  the 
command  of  Lieut.  Allfriend,  had  accompanied  us.  Here  they 
were  to  take  leave.  The  detachment  was  formed  into  line,  and 
the  Chairman  of  the  Senate  and  South  Carolina  committees  ad- 
dressed to  them  appropriate  acknowledgments.  To  these,  Lieut. 
Allfriend  replied,  assuring  us  that  u  however  mournful  the  occa- 
sion, the  part  they  had  taken  was  deemed  by  them  a  duty  and  a 
privilege." 

At  the  distance  of  about  40  miles  from  Wilmington,  we  were 
met  by  a  deputation  of  ten  gentlemen  from  that  city,  consisting 
of  Dr.  De  Rossett,  Sen.  (a  gentleman  83  years  of  age,)  Chairman, 
and  Messrs.  J.  F.  McCrea,  Sen.  P.  R.  Dickinson,  W.  C.  Betten- 
caurt,  James  Owen,  Thos.  H.  Wright,  John  Walker,  and  Thorn- 


COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE.  69 

as  Loring.  of  Wilmington,  and  F.  J.  Hill,  of  Brunswick,  and 
James  Iredell,  of  Raleigh.  These  gentlemen  tendered  to  us  the 
hospitalities  of  Wilmington.  We  reached  that  city  at  1  o'clock. 
A  gun  was  fired  on  our  arrival  as  a  signal,  at  which  the  flags  of 
the  public  buildings  and  the  shipping  were  struck  at  half  mast ; 
the  bells  began  to  toll  and  the  military  to  fire  minute  guns.  We 
were  now  informed  that  arrangements  had  been  made  for  the  re- 
ception of  the  whole  company  at  the  hotel,  as  guests  of  the  city  ; 
but  that  it  having  been  suggested  to  them  that  delay  in  leaving 
Wilmington  might  interfere  with  the  ceremonies  of  the  reception 
in  Charleston  the  next  day,  they  requested  that  their  desires 
should  not  interfere  with  our  arrangements.  This  delicate  and 
considerate  course  left  us  at  liberty  to  embark  without  delay. — 
To  this  end,  the  body  was  placed  on  a  hearse,  appropriately  de- 
corated for  the  occasion,  drawn  by  a  white  horse,  with  coverings 
of  black,  and  a  procession  formed  from  the  cars  to  the  steamer. 
The  citizens  were  arranged  in  a  long  double  line,  and  stood  un- 
covered, whilst  the  procession  passed  through  them  to  solemn 
music.  The  ceremony  was  deeply  impressive.  The  body  was 
placed  on  board  the  steamer  Nina,  which  had  been  prepared  and 
sent  by  your  Excellency  to  receive  it,  with  the  committees  in  at- 
tendance. We  were  here  met  by  Capt.  William  Blanding,  who 
had  been  requested  by  the  City  Council  to  proceed  to  Wilming- 
ten  in  the  Nina,  as  Master  of  Ceremonies.  The  Wilmington  and 
Raleigh  Rail  Road  Company  had  also  in  waiting  one  of  their 
boats,  the  Wilmington,  the  use  of  which  had  been  kindly  ten- 
dered to  and  accepted  by  our  city  authorities.  A  part  of  the  com- 
pany in  attendance  went  in  each  boat ;  and  by  this  arrangement, 
the  comfort  of  all  was  greatly  promoted.  We  were  accompanied 
to  Charleston  by  a  deputaiion  of  sixteen  citizens  of  Wilming- 
ton, of  whom  Dr.  De  Rossett,  the  elder,  was  chairman ;  and  also 
by  a  deputation  of  four  from  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Wil- 
mington and  Raleigh  Rail  Road  Company,  of  whom  Gen.  James 
Owen  was  Chairman.  The  two  steamers  left  Wilmington  to- 
gether about  3  o'clock,  P.  M.  for  Charleston. 

On  the  detail  thus  given  of  the  honors  paid  to  the  memory  of 


70  REPORT  OF  THE 

Mr.  Calhoun,  it  may  be  remarked,  that  at  each  of  the  cities 
through  which  we  passed,  the  ceremonies  had  some  appropriate 
peculiarity.  The  simple  and  silent  movement  from  the  capitol 
at  Washington,  where  the  eloquence  of  public  and  individual 
sorrow  had  so  recently  been  heard  ;  the  emblems  of  respect  at 
Alexandria  ;  the  honors  to  our  sad  procession  as  it  moved  slowly 
through  Fredericksburg,  with  the  military  and  civic  escort  of  that 
city ;  the  more  elaborate  arrangements  at  Richmond  for  the  re- 
ception and  charge  of  the  remains  for  the  night,  and  their  re-de- 
livery the  next  day,  with  the  kind  attention  to  the  comfort  of  the 
committees ;  the  full  and  imposing  procession  through  Peters- 
burg, the  church  draped  in  crape,  and  the  informal  courtesies  of 
the  citizens ;  the  numerous  array  of  private  citizens  at  Wilming- 
ton, through  whom  the  procession  passed  to  the  boat ;  all  exhib- 
ited the  common  purpose  in  these  several  communities,  with  va- 
riety in  the  modes,  of  manifesting  their  respect  to  the  memory  of 
the  dead,  and  their  kindness  to  the  living. 

To  these  more  formal  tributes  were  added  other  testimonials 
less  imposing,  but  not  less  touching.  At  several  small  places 
along  the  road,  the  discharge  of  cannon  was  the  manifestation 
of  respect.  As  we  passed  a  farm  near  Wilmington,  North  Caro- 
lina, the  owner,  an  elderly  man,  stood  at  the  road-side,  uncover- 
ed, his  right  hand  resting  on  a  small  pine,  hung  with  emblems 
of  mourning,  with  his  two  servants  standing  behind  him,  also 
uncovered.  And  a  short  time  before  this,  a  distant  bell  had 
sounded  the  modest  tribute  of  a  rural  neighborhood,  where  no 
assemblage  was  seen.  It  ought  also  to  be  remembered  that  at 
every  place,  all  who  composed  the  cortege  were  received  as 
guests  ;  that  through  the  entire  line  of  travel,  conveyances  had 
been  tendered,  and  were  provided  without  charge  ;  and  that  the 
Wilmington  and  Raleigh  Rail  Road  Company  would  permit  no 
charge  to  the  South  Carolina  Committee  on  their  way  to  Wash- 
ington. 

And  whilst  the  committee  of  twenty-live  thus  report  the  dis- 
tinguished honors  paid  to  the  memory  of  the  lamented  Cal- 
houn, they  gratefully  recall  the  respect  and  kindness  shown  to 


COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE.  71 

themselves,  for  their  work's  sake.  To  the  Honorable  the  com- 
mittee of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  to  the  citizens  of 
Washington,  Fredericksburgh,  Richmond,  Petersburgh  and  Wil- 
mington, and  especially  to  the  authorities  and  committees  of  the 
several  cities,  their  thanks  are  due,  and  they  would  thus  record 
their  acknowledgments. 

We  entered  the  harbor  of  Charleston  at  9  o'clock  on  Thurs- 
day morning,  the  25th  April.  A  fog  made  the  city  indistinct  to 
view,  until  we  had  approached  quite  near  to  it,  when  we  ob- 
served that  the  houses  were  hung  with  emblems  of  mourning. 
The  tone  of  deep  feeling  produced  by  the  silent  eloquence  of 
these  tokens,  was  made  deeper  by  the  Sabbath-like  stillness  of 
the  city.  On  our  approaching  the  revenue  cutter  Crawford,  in 
the  roads,  she  commenced  the  firing  of  minute  guns.  The  Nina 
took  her  in  tow,  and  a  procession  of  boats  was  formed,  consist- 
ing of  the  Nina  and  Wilmington,  the  revenue  cutter  and  the 
steamers  Matamora  and  Pilot ;  the  two  latter  with  citizens  on 
board.  These  vessels,  all  displaying  emblems  of  mourning,  ar- 
ranged with  remarkable  care  and  taste,  moved  slowly  several 
times  along  the  entire  line  of  the  city,  from  the  Southern  point  of 
the  Battery  to  the  landing  place  at  Smith's  wharf,  until  the 
hour  appointed  for  the  landing.  This  novel  procession  was  felt 
by  all  to  increase  the  deep  solemnity  of  the  occasion.  At  12 
o'clock,  the  body  of  J.  C.  Calhoun  was  landed  on  the  soil  of 
his  native  State,  to  receive  the  honors  of  his  own  sorrowing  peo- 
ple.    The  description  of  these  honors  belongs  to  others. 

In  conclusion,  the  committee  would  remark,  that  the  manifes- 
tations of  respect  to  the  memory  of  our  lamented  fellow  citizen, 
were  tributes  both  to  distinguished  talents  and  services,  and  to 
moral  excellence  universally  felt  and  acknowledged.  With  the 
public  tributes  were  combined  the  most  gratifying  private  recog- 
nitions of  the  purity  and  elevation  of  purpose  exhibited  through- 
out his  life. 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  indeed  in  the  vale  of  years ;  venerable  for 
ripe  knowledge  and  long  service ;  but  the  bond  between  his 
country  and  himself,  amid  the  conflicts  of  opinion,  and  the  as- 


72 


REPORT  OF  THE 


perities  of  parties,  was  this  moral  element,  which  adorned  not 
only  the  evening  of  his  life,  but  its  morning  and  noon.  This, 
joined  to  great  powers,  made  up  the  man,  whose  memory  the 
country  deems  it  a  privilege  to  honor. 

Let  us  trust,  then,  that  the  regrets  and  the  honors  which  have 
followed  him  to  the  tomb,  will  impress  upon  the  young  men  of 
our  country,  the  value  of  high  character  and  virtuous  purposes. 
With  these,  the  useful  employment  of  talent  is  limited  to  no  one 
period  of  life ;  M  for  honorable  age  is  not  that  which  standeth  in 
length  of  time,  nor  that  is  measured  by  number  of  years  ;  but 
wisdom  is  the  gray  hair  unto  men,  and  an  unspotted  life  is  old 
age." 

I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Very  respectfully, 
Your  obedient  servant, 
DANIEL  RAYENEL,  Chairman 
Com.  Twenty-five. 


The  Committee  of  Twenty-five  consisted  of  the  following 
gentlemen. 


Daniel  Ravenel, 
C.  G.  Memminger, 
Alfred  Huger, 
H.  A.  DeSaussure, 
James  Rose, 
Henry  Gourdin, 
G.  A.  Trenholm, 
Chas.  Edmondston, 
Col.  J.  A.  Leland, 
S.  Y.  Tupper, 
Mm.  M.  Martin, 
P.  C.  Gaillard, 
Wm,  Aiken, 


John  E.  Carew, 
Chas.  T.  Lowndes, 
P.  Della  Torre, 
Thomas  Lehre, 
Col.  James  Legare, 
Col.  E.  M.  Seabrook, 
Geo.  N.  Reynolds, 
John  Russell, 
Col.  M.  I.  Keith, 
A.  Moise,  jr. 
Geo.  S.  Bryan, 
Paul  H.  Seabrook. 


PAPERS 

ACCOMPANYING  THE  PRECEDING  REPORT, 


PROGRAMME  OF   PROCEEDINGS  IN  WASHINGTON. 

The  remains  of  Mr.  Calhoun  will  be  brought  to  the  Capitol 
in  a  hearse,  by  8  o'clock.  A.  M.  in  the  morning  of  Monday,  the 
22d  inst.  in  charge  of  the  Sergeant-at-arms,  and  will  so  remain 
in  his  charge,  and  with  those  assistants  present  who  are  to  ac- 
company it  to  the  South.     They  will  be  at  the  Eastern  front. 

Carriages  will  be  sent  for  the  committee  of  the  Senate  and  Mr. 
Tenable  and  Mr.  Holmes,  of  S.  C.  their  guests,  and  for  the  com- 
mittee from  South  Carolina,  to  their  respective  lodgings,  to  be 
there  punctually  at  half  past  seven.  They  will  rendezvous  at 
the  eastern  front  of  the  Capitol ;  and  at  8  o'clock  punctually,  a 
baggage-wagon,  in  charge  of  a  messenger,  will  convey  the  bag- 
gage of  the  South  Carolina  committee,  and  have  it  on  board  be- 
fore the  procession  arrives. 

The  body,  in  charge  of  the  Sergeant-at-arms  with  his  assist- 
ants, and  the  committee,  will  leave  the  Capitol  at  8  o'clock, 
punctually,  and  proceed  to  the  mail  boat — passing  on  the  south- 
ern side  of  Capitol  Hill,  and  along  Maryland  Avenue. 

The  Sergeant-at-arms  will  communicate  a  copy  of  this  to 
Daniel  Ravenel,  Esq.  Chairman  of  the  committee  for  South  Car- 
olina, and  to  Mr.  Venable  and  Mr.  Holmes. 

(Signed)  JAMES  M.  MASON. 


n  '  REPORT  OF  THE 


PASSAGE  THROUGH  FREDERICKSBURG,  VIRGINIA. 

The  following  information  has  been  kindly  furnished  by  the 
Hon.  R.  B.  Semple,  Mayor  of  Fredericksburg,  in  compliance  with 
a  request  from  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee. 

Names  of  the  individuals  who  participated  in  the  demonstra- 
tions of  respect  to  the  remains  of  Mr.  Calhoun  on  their  passage 
through  Fredericksburg. 

Officers  of  the  Corporation  : 
R.  B.  Semple,  Mayor, 
Dr.  B.  R.  Herndon,  Recorder, 
John  Minor,  Councilman, 

Thomas  B.  Barton,  Commonwealth's  Attorney,    \  Committee. 
John  J.  Chew,  Clerk  of  Hustings  Court. 
Citizens : 
Col.  Hugh  Mercer, 
Eustace  Conway. 

Military  : 

Capt.  William  S.  Barton,  of  Fredericksburg  Guards. 
First  Liet.  Jas.  H.  Lawrence,  "  " 

Second  "     J.  L.  Jones,  "  " 

Third     "    Wm.  A.  Metcalf,  "  « 

Fourth    "    C.B.White,  "  ', 

Band  : 
Capt.  John  W.  Adams,  and  twelve  others. 

The  following  orders  were  issued  on  the  occasion  : 

1st.  A  committee,  consisting  of  the  Mayor,  Recorder,  Col.  Hugh 
Mercer,  (only  surviving  son  of  Gen.  Hugh  Mercer,)  and  Messrs. 
Barton,  Conway,  Chew  and  Minor,  to  meet  the  remains  at  the 
Creek  and  accompany  them  to  town. 

2nd.  That  the  Fredericksburg  Guards,  accompanied  by  their 
Band,  attend  the  committee  to  the  Creek,  and  perform  such  evo- 
lutions as  may  be  suitable  to  the  occasion. 

3rd.  That  a  hearse  be  prepared  to  carry  the  remains  through 
the  principal  streets  of  the  town. 


COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE.  75 

4th.  That  minute  guns  be  fired  from  10  o'clock,  A.  M.  to  3 
o'clock,  P.  M. 

5th.  That  the  bells  of  the  town  be  tolled  from  10  o'clock,  A. 
M.  to  3  o'clock,  P.  M. 

All  these  orders  were  fully  executed,  save  the  third,  which,  the 
committee  were  informed  by  the  Richmond  committee,  would  in- 
terfere with  previous  arrangements,  and  therefore  could  not  be 
earned  out. 

The  Mayor  concludes  his  communication  with  the  following 
remarks. 

"  Upon  no  occasion,  have  we  seen  the  people  of  this  town  more 
disposed  to  pay  honor  to  the  memory  of  one,  for  whose  transcen- 
dant  abilities,  and  undimmed  virtues,  however  they  may  have 
differed  with  him  politically,  they  entertained  the  utmost  reve- 
ence.  And  personally,  it  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  say,  that 
upon  no  occasion  in  the  course  of  my  official  duties,  have  I  been 
more  conscious  of  discharging  a  duty,  than  in  these  offices  to  the 
memory  of  one  of  the  greatest  patriots  and  purest  men  this  coun- 
try has  produced." 


RESOLUTIONS    OF  "THE    COUNCIL    OF  THE  CITY  OF 
RICHMOND." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  of  the  City  of  Richmond,  called 
by  the  President,  and  held  on  Thursday,  the  18th  day  of  April  > 
1850. 

Present,  Gustavus  A.  Myers,  President,  William  C.  Allen,  Jas\ 
Bosher,  Joseph  M.  Carrington,  Samuel  D.  Denoon,  Simon  Cul- 
len,  Wellington  Goddin,  Conway  Robinson,  David  J.  Saunders, 
James  M.  Talbott,  Richard  O.  Haskins,  and  Lewis  W.  Chamber 
layne. 

The  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  unanimously 
adopted  by  the  Council — 

Whereas,  it  is  understood  that  the  remains  of  John  C.  Cal- 


76  REPORT  OF  THE 

houn,  late  a  Senator  from  our  sister  State  of  South  Carolina,  will 
be  brought  to  this  city  on  Monday  afternoon,  in  charge  of  a  joint 
committee  from  his  native  State,  and  from  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives and  Senate  of  the  United  States ;  and  this  Council, 
being  desirous,  on  the  part  of  the  citizens  of  Richmond,  of  mani- 
festing every  respect  to  the  memory  of  a  man  not  less  distin- 
guished for  the  purity  of  his  private  life  than  illustrious  as  a 
statesman  and  patriot, 

Resolved,  That  Messrs.  Haskins,  Chamberlayne  and  Allen, 
be  a  committee  on  the  part  of  the  Council ;  and  Messrs,  Loftin, 
N.  Ellett,  George  E.  Sadler,  George  M.  Carrington,  James  H. 
Poindexter,  James  Winston,  Hugh  Riliegh,  Richard  B.  Haxall, 
William  F.  Ritchie,  Thomas  R.  Price,  Col.  John  Rutherford, 
Nicholas  Mills,  Judge  John  S.  Caskie,  William  H.  Macfarland, 
William  Rutherford,  Mann  S.  Valentine,  Robert  G.  Scott,  and 
Joseph  Mayo,  a  committee  of  the  citizens  of  Richmond,  to  co- 
operate with  any  committee  that  may  be  appointed  by  the  Exec- 
utive of  this  Commonwealth,  in  making  suitable  arrangements 
for  the  reception  of  the  remains  of  the  late  John  C.  Calhoun, 
on  their  arrival  in  this  city.  And  that  the  committee,  on  behalf 
of  the  Council  and  citizens,  be  requested  to  invite  the  joint  com- 
mittee and  all  others  attending  the  remains,  to  consider  them- 
selves as  the  guests  of  this  city. 

Resolved,  That  the  said  committee  of  the  Council  and  citizens 
inform  the  joint  committee  thereof,  and  make  the  necessary  ar- 
rangements for  their  accommodation. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Chamberlayne, 

Ordered,  That  the  President  be  added  to  the  committee  on  the 
part  of  the  Council. 

And  then  the  Council  adjourned. 
A  copy  from  the  journal  of  the  Council. 

WM.  P.  SHEPPARD,  C.  C.  R. 


His  Excellency,  Gov.  Floyd,  also  appointed  a   Committee  to 
act  with  the  committee  of  the  citizens.    At  a  meeting  of  the 


COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE.  77 

joint  committees,  a  sub-committee  of  arrangements  was  appoint- 
ed, of  which  the  Hon.  John  Y.  Mason  was  named  the  Chairman, 
and  the  Hon.  John  Y.  Mason,  Gustavus  A.  Myers,  James  Lyons 
and  Wm.  F.  Ritchie,  Esquires,  were  requested  to  proceed  to  the 
Potomac  River,  and  receive  those  in  charge  of  the  remains  at  the 
border  of  the  State. 

At  the  request  of  the  Governor,  deputations  were  in  attendance 
from  other  parts  of  the  State. 

The  following  programme  of  the  arrangements  was  published 
in  the  Richmond  papers  of  Monday  morning,  22d  April,  viz : 

ORDER  OF  PROCESSION, 

To  be  observed  on  reception  of  the  remains  of  the  late  Hon. 
John  C.  Calhoun,  Monday  afternoon,  the  22d  inst. 
Military  Escort. 
The  Hearse. 

Relations  and  friends  of  the  deceased,  with  committees  of  Con- 
gress and  South  Carolina  in  charge  of  the  remains. 
The  Joint  Committee  of  Arrangements,  appointed  by  the  Go- 
vernor, Council  and  Citizens  of  Richmond. 
The  Clergy. 
The  Governor,  Council  and  Officers  of  the  State. 
The  Judges  of  the  State  and  Federal  Courts. 
Officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  Unired  States. 
The  Mayor,  Recorder,  Aldermen  and  Common  Council  of  the 
City  of  Richmond. 
The  different  Societies  of  the  City. 
The  Citizens. 
The  procession  will  be  formed  at  4  o'clock,  at  a  point  near  the 
entrance  to  Buchanan's  Spring ;  its  right  upon  the  left  of  the 

Military. 

The  following  named  gentlemen  are  appointed  as  Assistant 
Marshals :  Col.  Jno.  A.  Meredith,  Col.  Henry  W.  Q,uarles,  Col. 
George  "W.  Munford,  Col.  George  N.  Johnson,  Col.  J.  W.  Spauld- 
ing,  Major  Thomas  H.  Ellis,  Major  H.  C.  Cabell,  Capt.  R.  G. 


78  REPORT  OF  THE 

Scott,  Jr.  Capt.  Thomas  J.  Evans,  B.  B.  Minor,  D.  C.  Randolph, 
and  Thomas  J.  Deane,  Esqrs. 

The  Marshals  are  requested  to  meet  at  the  Chamberlain's  Of- 
fice at  10  o'clock,  on  Monday  morning. 

BE'NJ.  SHEPPARD,  Chief  Marshal. 

The  Governor  requests  the  following  named  gentlement  to  act 
as  pall-bearers  at  the  funeral  ceremonies  of  the  late  Mr.  John  C. 
Calhoun  :  Messrs.  John  Y.  Mason,  James  D.  Halyburton,  Wm. 
Daniel,  John  M.  Patton,  B.  W.  S.  Cabell,  J.  B.  Harvie,  Wm.  H. 
Richardson,  and  John  A.  Meredith. 


PROCEEDINGS  AT  PETERSBURGH,  VA. 

From  information  afforded  by  the  Hon.  Charles  Corling, 
Mayor, 

Programme  of  Arrangements,  from  the  Petersburgh  Papers 

of  23rd  April, 

COMMON  HALL. 

The  members  of  the  Common  Hall  are  requested  to  meet  at 

their  room  this  morning  at  10  o'clock,  for  the  purpose  of  meeting 

the  remains  of  the  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun,  deceased. 

April  23.  CHAS.  CORLING,  Mayor. 


The  Committee  appointed  by  the  Common  Hall  to  arrange  the 
details  of  the  reception  of  the  remains  of  the  lamented  patriot 
and  statesman,  John  C.  Calhoun,  report  as  follows : 

1st.  That  the  Common  Hall  assemble  at  the  Court  House  at 
10  o'clock,  A.  M.,  and  proceed  to  the  Richmond  and  Petersburgh 
Railroad  depot  in  a  body,  and  accompany  the  remains  thence  to 
its  temporary  resting  place  at  the  Episcopal  Church,  on  Walnut 
street. 


COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE.  79 

2nd.  That  the  citizens  desirous  of  uniting  in  the  sad  offices 
of  respect  to  the  illustrious  dead,  be  respectfully  requested  to  as- 
semble at  the  Richmond  and  Petersburg  Railroad  depot,  at  half 
past  10,  A.  M.  of  this  day. 

3rd.  That  the  commandants  of  our  Volunteer  Companies  be 
requested  to  furnish  detachments  of  their  different  corps  to  escort 
and  guard  the  remains  while  in  our  town ;  that  the  Artillery 
Company  be  requested  to  fire  minute  guns,  and  the  bells  of  the 
different  churches  be  tolled  while  the  procession  is  moving. 

4th.  That  the  church  in  which  the  remains  shall  be  tempora- 
rily deposited,  be  clothed  in  mourning,  and  that  the  citizens  be 
requested  to  close  their  doors  from  half  past  11,  A.  M.,  when  the 
body  will  arrive  at  this  place,  until  the  procession  shall  have 
passed. 

5th.  That  John  F.  May,  Francis  Major,  Wm.  T.  Joynes,  Wm, 
Brownley,  H.  B.  Gaines,  James  Dunlop,  Robert  Birchett,  Robert 
R.  Collier,  John  Sturdivant,  Jno.  W.  Syme,  Jos.  C.  Swan,  D.  M. 
Bernard,  G.  V.  Scott  and  Peter  P.  Batte,  committee  of  citizens, 
be  requested  to  act  with  the  committee  of  the  Hall,  to  receive 
and  entertain  the  Joint  Committee  of  Congress,  the  committee 
of  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  and  the  friends  and  mourners  of 
the  deceased,  as  guests  of  the  town. 

6th.  That  Jordan  Branch,  Esq.  be  appointed  Marshal,  with 
authority  to  appoint  assistants. 

7th.  That  the  citizens  be  requested  to  send  their  carriages  to 
the  depot  at  half  past  10  o'clock. 

CHARLES  CORLING,  J 
ANDREW  KEVAN,      }  Committee. 
THOMAS  WALLACE.  ) 

The  following  extracts  from  Mr.  Corling's  letter,  will  be  read 
with  interest. 

"  I  rejoice  to  say  that  our  entire  Magistracy  and  Common 
Council,  in  a  body,  attended  the  remains  from  the  Richmond 
depot ;  and  the  citizens  with  great  unanimity,  responded  to  the 
recommendations  of  the  committee,  sanctioned  by  the  people  and 
our  Common  Hall.    The  third  resolution  only  contemplated  de- 


80  REPORT  OF  THE 

tachments  of  the  Volunteers  to  protect  the  procession  and  guard 
the  remains  ;  but  all  the  Volunteers  insisted  upon  uniting  in  the 
last  offices  of  respect  to  one  whose  death  is  felt  to  be  a  common 
loss." 

"  The  Petersburgh  Grays — Capt  Joseph  V.  Scott. 

"    Petersburgh  Artillery — Capt.  D'Arcey  Paul. 

"    Cockade  Blues — Capt.  Robert  Downan. 
and   "    Petersburgh  Riflemen — Capt.  James  S.  Gilliam, 
constituted  the  military  who  took  part  in  the  procession. 

"  We  deeply  regretted  that  we  could  not,  by  more  than  mere 
outward  demonstrations  of  respect,  evince  to  you  how  deeply  we 
sympathised  in  South  Carolina's  and  our  country's  loss.  We 
loved  and  admired  John  C.  Calhoun.  With  a  mind  that  could 
grasp  the  affairs  of  a  universe,  he  possessed  a  heart  that  made 
him  ever  accessible  to  the  humblest  of  his  fellow  citizens.  Dif- 
fer with  him  as  men  might,  yet  all  admitted  him  to  be  the  man 
of  the  age.  The  fame  of  South  Carolina  will  grow  prouder  in 
the  annals  of  history,  because  her  glories  are  linked  forever  with 
the  memory  of  her  illustrious  son." 

Marshall. 
JORDAN  BRANCH,  Esq. 

Assistant  Marshalls. 
Chas.  F.  Collier,        John  Rowlett, 
Robert  Foster,  Daniel  Dodson, 

G.  V.  Rambant,  Franklin  Pegram. 

The  array  of  equipages  both  at  Richmond  and  at  Petersburgh, 
attracted  general  attention.  Many  of  them  were  elegant ;  all  of 
them  in  good  taste.  These  were  all  private  equipages,  sent  by 
the  citizens  for  the  accommodation  of  the  committees,  officers, 
deputations,  and  others  composing  the  cortege.  The  coachmen 
and  footmen  at  both  cities  were  distinguished  by  long  bands  of 
fine  white  cambric,  on  black  hats,  and  tied  with  black  ribbons, 
and  by  like  bands  tied  around  the  left  arm. 


COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE.  81 


PROCEEDINGS   AT  WILMINGTON,  N.  C. 

Extract  from  the  Programme  of  Arrangements. 

*  A  committee  of  ten,  consisting  of — 

A.  J.  De  Rossett,  Sen.  James  Owen, 

James  F.  McRee,  Sen.  Thomas  H.  Wright, 

P.  R.  Dickinson,  John  Walker, 

Wm.  C.  Bettencaurt,  Thomas  Loring, 

F.  J.  Hill,  of  Brunswick,  James  Iredell,  of  Raleigh, 


will  proceed  up  the  line  of  the  Wilmington  and  Raleigh  Rail- 
road, to  receive  the  remains,  and  escort  them  on  their  passage 
through  this  place.  These  gentlemen  will  also  act  as  Pall-bear- 
ers in  the  procession. 

"  The  citizens  generally,  are  requested  to  close  their  stores,  to 
suspend  all  operations  of  business,  and  to  meet  at  the  depot  at 
12  o'clock.  There  the  procession  will  be  formed,  under  the  di- 
rection of  W.  C.  Howard,  Chief  Marshall ;  receive  the  remains 
in  open  order,  and  escort  them  to  the  foot  of  Market  street, 
where  the  boat  from  Charleston  will  be  in  waiting." 

The  following  gentlemen  acted  as  Marshalls. 

r         ■ 

Chief  Marshall. 
WILLIAM  C.  HOWARD. 

Assistant  Marshalls. 
J.  G.  Green,  E.  W.  Hall. 

Crape  was  provided  by  the  City  for  the  Clergy,  Pall-bearers, 
and  citizens. 

The  following  gentlemen  formed  the  deputations  from  the 
City  of  Wilmington,  and  the  Board  of  the  Wilmington  and  Re- 
leigh  Railroad    company,  who  accompanied  the  remains   to 
Charleston,  by  invitation,  viz : 
6 


82  REPORT  OF  THE 

Dr.  A.  J.  DeROSETT,  Sen.  Chair,  of  deputation  of  Wilmington' 
Gen.  JAS.  OWEN,  Chairman  of  deputation  of  Railroad  Board. 
C.  W.  Hull,  J.  T.  M'Kee, 

R.  H.  Cowan,  J.  G.  Green, 

C  D.  Ellis,  A.  A.  Brown, 

L.  H.  Marsteller,      Dr.  J.  Swann, 
E.  Cantwell,  P.  M.  Walker, 

H.  Nutt,  Jas.  T.  Miller, 

J.  Fulton,  H.  R.  Savage, 

M.  Costin,  Dr.  DeRossett,  Jr. 

John  Cowan,  Wm.  C.  Bettencaurt. 


MINUTES  OF  THE  FINAL  MEETING   OF  THE  COMMIT- 
TEE OF  TWENTY-FIVE. 

Council  Chamber,  ) 

Charleston,  24th  May,  1850.      [ 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Committee  of  Twenty-five,  appointed  by 
his  Excellency  the  Governor,  there  were  present,  Daniel  Rave- 
nel,  Esq.  Chairman,  Samuel  G.  Tupper,  Secretary ;  Messrs.  De- 
Saussure,  Huger,  Lowndes,  Aiken,  E.  M.  Seabrook,  Bryan,  Moise, 
Jr.  Reynolds,  Jr.  Torre,  Russell,  Legare  and  Edmondston. 

The  Chairman  submitted  a  communication,  received  by  him 
from  his  Excellency  Governor  Seabrook,  requesting  him  to  fur- 
nish a  narrative  of  the  proceedings  of  the  committee  from  the 
time  of  their  departure  from  Charleston  until  their  return.  The 
Chairman  then  read  a  letter  in  reply,  which  he  had  prepared  ; 
being  a  full  report  of  proceedings  and  incidents  connected  with 
the  visit  of  the  committee  to  Washington,  in  which  particular 
reference  was  made  to  the  many  and  imposing  solemnities  which 
marked  the  transit  of  the  remains  of  Mr.  Calhoun  from  Wash- 
ington  to  Charleston. 

Mr.  DeSaussure,  after  expressing  his  great  satisfaction  with 
the  report,  moved  that  it  be  approved  of  by  the  committee,  and 


COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE.  83 

that  the  Chairman  be  requested  to  place  the  same  in  the  hands 
of  His  Excellency  the  Governor;  which  was  unanimously  adopted. 

On  motion  of  Ex-Gov.  Aiken,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  Chairman  be  requested  to  write  out  and 
communicate  to  the  Governor,  with  his  report  for  publication,  the 
addresses  made  by  him  at  Richmond. 

Mr.  Moise  having  expressed  a  desire  to  offer  a  resolution  in  re»- 
ference  to  the  Chairman,  the  Chairman  retired,  when  Alfred  Hu- 
ger,  Esq.  was  called  to  the  Chair.  Mr.  Moise  then  offered  com- 
plimentary resolutions  in  reference  to  the  Chairman  and  Chair- 
man fro  tern,  of  the  committee,  which  were  unanimuosly  adopt- 
ed, and  Mr.  Huger  was  requested  to  transmit  them  to  the  Go- 
vernor. 

On  the  return  of  the  Chairman,  Mr.  Ravenel,  he  was  impres- 
sively addressed  by  Mr.  Huger,  and  the  substance  of  the  above 
resolutions  communicated  to  him  ;  to  which  Mr.  Ravenel  feelingly 
responded  in  acknowledgment  of  the  compliment. 

Col.  Seabrook  then  offered  a  resolution  of  thanks  to  the  Sec- 
retary and  Treasurer  of  the  committee,  which  was  unanimously 
adopted,  with  a  request  that  the  Chairman  would  communicate 
the  same  to  Governor  Seabrook. 

The  committee  then  adjourned  sine  die. 

S.  Y.  TUPPER,  Secretary. 

Note. — In  compliance  with  one  of  the  above  resolutions,  the  report 
of  tbe  Committee  of  Twenty-Five  was  so  modified  as  to  include,  as  part 
of  the  narrative,  the  several  addresses  made  at  Richmond. 


EXTRACT  FROM  THE  MINUTES  OF  A  MEETING  OF  THE 
COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE. 

The  Chairman  having  left  the  room,  after  the  adoption  of  his 
report  by  the  committee,  the  Hon.  Alfred  Huger  was  requested  to 
take  the  Chair. 


84  REPORT  OF  THE 

A.  Moise,  Jr.  Esq.,  then  rose,  and  solicited  for  a  short  time  the 
attention  of  the  committee,  as  this  meeting  would,  in  all  proba- 
bility, be  its  last.  It  had  been  charged  with  duties  the  most  sa- 
cred and  responsible.  The  mission  upon  which  it  had  been  sent 
by  South  Carolina,  was  perhaps  the  most  solemn,  delicate  and 
interesting,  which  she  had  ever  delegated  to  her  sons.  That 
mission  had  now  become  a  subject  of  deep  historic  interest,  and 
the  touching  incidents  associated  with  it,  would  not  soon  fade 
from  the  public  mind  and  heart.  It  was  indeed  vividly  impress- 
ed upon  both.  It  was  an  event  in  which  not  only  South  Caro- 
lina, but  the  whole  nation,  had  manifested  an  intense  interest, 
and  yielded  a  universal  and  spontaneous  sympathy. 

Mr.  Moise  said  that  much  of  the  difficulty  and  responsibility 
which  the  duties  of  the  committee  involved,  had  necessarily  fall- 
en upon  its  Chairman,  Daniel  Ravenel,  Esq. ;  and  he  would  avail 
of  the  temporary  absence  of  that  gentleman  to  submit  what  he 
felt  assured  would  meet  a  prompt  and  cordial  response. 

Mr.  Moise  then  offered  the  following  resolutions — 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  appointed  by  his  Excellency 
the  Governor,  to  convey  to  South  Carolina  the  remains  of  the 
Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun,  desire  to  place  on  record  their  high  ap- 
preciation of  the  services  of  their  Chairman,  Daniel  Ravenel,  Esq. 
The  entire  propriety,  and  delicacy  of  sentiment,  conspicuous  in 
the  discharge  of  his  varied  duties,  have  not  failed  deeply  to  im- 
press his  colleagues  ;  and  the  unaffected  modesty  which  graced 
his  whole  deportment,  while  it  has  increased  their  estimation  of 
the  successful  service  he  has  rendered,  admonishes  them  to  say 
no  more  on  the  present  occasion.  Less,  they  could  not  say,  in 
justice  to  themselves. 

Resolved,  That  the  acknowledgments  of  the  committee  are 
also  due  the  Hon.  Henry  A.  DeSaussure,  for  the  zeal,  urbanity, 
and  dignity,  with  which  he  conducted  the  duties  of  Chair,  du- 
ring the  necessary  absence  of  the  Chairman. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  proceedings  be  sent  by  the  Se- 
cretary to  the  Hon.  Alfred  Huger,  with  the  request  that  they  be 


COMMITTEE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE.  85 

transmitted  to  his  Excellency  the  Governor  for  publication,  with 
the  report  of  Daniel  Ravenel,  Esq. 

The   resolutions  were  seconded  by  Col.  P.  Delia  Torre,  and 
unanimously  adopted. 

SAMUEL  Y.  TUPPER,  Secretary. 

Charleston,  May,  1850. 


Charleston,  June  1st,  1850. 
Dear  Sir : — At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Committee  of  Twenty- 
five,  the  preamble  and  resolutions  herewith  enclosed,  were,  du- 
ring the  temporary  absence  of  Mr.  Ravenel,  unanimously  adopted. 
The  committee  have  instructed  me  to  request  that  these  reso- 
lutions be  appended  to  the  "  Narrative*'  of  our  mournful  mission  ; 
a  document  which  is  submitted  to  your  Excellency  by  your  own 
desire. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

with  great  respect, 

Your  obd't.  serv't. 

ALFRED  HUGER. 
His  Excellency,  Gov.  Seabrook. 


NARRATIVE 


OF  THE 


FUNEEAL  HONOES 
PAID  TO  THE  HON.  J.  C.  CALHOUN, 

AT  CHARLESTON,  S.  C. 


On  the  evening  of  the  31st  March,  1850,  telegraphic  dispatch- 
es from  Washington  announced  the  death  of  the  Hon.  J.  C.  Cal- 
houn, at  the  seat  of  Government.  The  next  day,  when  the  in- 
telligence became  generally  known,  the  dejection  that  dwelt  upon 
the  countenances  of  all,  revealed  the  public  sense  of  the  deep 
calamity  that  had  fallen  upon  the  country  ;  a  settled  gloom  rest- 
ed upon  the  city  of  Charleston  ;  the  busy  operations  of  life  were 
suspended,  and  the  heart  of  the  whole  community  seemed  for 
awhile  to  stand  still.  The  bells  of  St.  Michael's  Church  were  tolled 
throughout  the  day,  and  the  shipping  in  harbor  displayed  their 
colors  at  half  mast ;  the  melancholy  truth  was  apparent  that 
Calhoun  was  no  more  ! 

All  that  now  remained  for  an  afflicted  people,  was  to  endeavor 
to  clothe  the  public  sentiment  of  love  and  veneration  for  his 
memory,  with  those  external  demonstrations  of  respect  to  all  that 
was  mortal,  commensurate  with  his  exalted  virtue  and  public 
service. 


MAYOR  OF  CHARLESTON.  87 

The  City  Council  immediately  convened,  when  the  sad  intel- 
ligence was  officially  communicated  by  the  Mayor,  and  the  fol- 
lowing resolutions  unanimously  adopted. 

"  Resolved,  That  Council  have  heard  with  feelings  of  deep 
emotion,  the  death  of  the  Hon.  J.  C.  Calhoun,  in  whose  decease 
the  country  has  lost  a  patriot,  distinguished  by  long  and  illustri- 
ous service,  and  the  State  a  cherished  and  devoted  son. 

"  Resolved,  That  in  token  of  respect  to  the  eminent  abilities 
and  elevated  virtues  of  the  deceased,  a  suitable  monument  be 
forthwith  erected  to  his  memory  in  the  centre  of  the  city  square, 
and  that  a  committee  of  Council,  of  which  his  Honor  the  Mayor 
shall  be  Chairman,  be  appointed  to  carry  out  the  intention  of 
this  resolution. 

"  Resolved^  That  a  committee  of  Council  be  also  appointed 
to  co-operate,  if  desired,  with  any  committee  of  citizens  that  may 
be  appointed  to-morrow  evening,  in  making  all  proper  and  ne- 
cessary arrangements  for  the  reception  of  the  body  of  the  de- 
ceased, as  well  as  in  paying  other  suitable  marks  of  respect  to  his 
memory. 

"  Resolved)  That  the  Mayor  be  requested  to  communicate  these 
resolutions  to  the  family  of  the  deceased,  tendering  to  them  the 
sympathies  of  Council  in  this,  their  afflicting  bereavement." 

The  next  evening,  the  2nd  April,  pursuant  to  a  call  at  the  de- 
sire of  the  citizens,  a  public  meeting  was  held  at  the  City  Hall. 
Long  before  the  appointed  hour,  a  dense  crowd,  representing  all 
classes  and  interests,  thronged  the  hall.  The  meeting  was  or- 
ganized by  the  call  of  the  Hon.  T.  L.  Hutchinson,  Mayor  of  the 
city,  to  the  chair,  and  the  appointment  of  F.  P.  Porcher  and  H. 
P.  Walker,  Esqrs.  Secretaries.  The  Chairman  thus  announced 
the  object  of  the  meeting. 

"  Fellow  Citizens : — The  occasion  that  draws  us  together  is 
the  saddest  that  has  ever  darkened  the  hearts  of  Carolinians. 
A  great  affliction  has  befallen  the  land ;  an  especial  calamity 
has  overshadowed  us.  A  nation  mourns,  but  ours  is  the  pecu- 
liar grief.  Calhoun  is  no  more !  The  foremost  spirit  of  the 
time  has  been  quenched  forever.    The  incorruptible  patriot,  the 


88  REPORT  OF  THE 

statesman  without  guile  ;  the  orator  upon  whose  accents  Senates 
hung  in  silence  ;  the  honest  politician,  whose  love  of  country- 
taught  him  to  forget  the  love  of  self;  the  public  man  who,  with 
every  incentive  and  every  opportunity  for  personal  aggrandize- 
ment, scorned  all  ways  as  unsanctified,  that  swerved  one  hair's 
breadth  from  truth  and  rectitude  ;  who  devoted  a  life  of  forty- 
years  to  the  service  of  his  country,  moving  in  an  independant 
sphere,  for  it  may  justly  be  said,  that  he  was  allied  to  no  political 
sect,  but  held  himself  aloof,  to  stand  forth  when  duty  called  him 
to  sway  by  his  reason  and  his  judgment,  the  impulses  of  the 
hour  to  the  right  course  ;  and  amid  the  perils  and  contentions  of 
forty  years,  the  strife  of  party  and  the  asperity  of  prejudice,  has 
left  a  spotless  fame,  and  a  career  that  makes  ambition  virtue. 

"  He  was  the  defender  of  Southern  rights,  the  guardian  of  the 
Constitution,  an  ardent  lover  of  the  Union ;  his  searching  fore- 
sight first  detected  in  their  remotest  depths  those  evils  which  he 
foretold  would  arise  to  endanger  the  political  bands  that  secure 
this  Confederacy — and  whose  shadows  now  darkening  around 
and  above  us,  have  endowed  him  with  a  prophet's  vision  ;  whose 
dying  words,  spoken  as  if  from  the  tomb,  have  pointed  the 
means  whereby  these  dangers  may  be  averted,  and  the  peace 
and  harmony  of  the  country  restored — his  last  legacy  to  the  peo- 
ple and  the  Union  he  loved  so  well. 

"The  death  of  Mr.  Calhoun  is  an  affliction  that  comes  directly 
home  to  "  men's  business  and  bosoms  ;"  at  this  parlicular  period, 
when  the  eyes  of  all  men  were  upon  him,  and  the  hopes  of  the 
South  rested  in  him,  as  an  ark  amid  the  political  blackness  lower- 
ing around,  this  dispensation  of  Providence  comes  with  stun- 
ning effect.  He  has  left  his  life  as  a  model,  his  precepts  as  our 
guide.  High  as  is  the  estimate  of  his  ability  and  public  service, 
he  stands  too  near  us  to  permit  his  intellect  and  its  effects  upon 
the  age,  to  be  viewed  in  all  its  noble  proportions — time  will 
place  future  generations  in  the  proper  position  to  survey  him 
with  just  admiration.  He  belongs  to  posterity  ;  but  even  now, 
since  death  has  veiled  the  mortal  man,  he  appears  to  the  mental 
eye  like  some  great  statue  of-  antiquity — classic  in  outline,  digni- 


MAYOR  OF  CHARLESTON.  89 

fied  in  posture,  majestic  and  serene — his  purity  gleaming  from  the 
lustre  of  the  marble,  and  standing  in  bold  relief  against  the  blue 
of  heaven. 

"  He  has  taken  his  place  among  the  master  spirits  of  the  uni- 
verse, sent  for  some  wise  end,  whose  mission  is  to  be  achieved. 
"  Though  dead  he  yet  speaketh."  The  work  allotted  to  him  by 
his  Divine  master  may  be  left  unfinished,  but  the  foundation  is 
traced,  the  structure  designed,  the  influence  of  his  mind  and  its 
deep-seated  wisdom  remains — the  future  will  confirm  that  he  is 
one  of 

"  The  dead  but  scepter'd  sovereigns,  who  still  rule 
Our  spirits  from  their  urns." 

"  The  annals  of  his  country,  for  nearly  a  half  century,  are  his 
biography.  His  proper  eulogy  belongs  to  the  historian,  who  has 
only  to  recount  with  truthfulness  the  actions  of  his  life,  in  their 
public  and  private  relations,  to  shew  to  the  world  the  excellence 
of  the  gift  bestowed  by  God,  and  the  reasonableness  of  a  nation's 
grief  that  deplores  his  loss. 

"  The  object  of  the  present  meeting  is  to  give  expression  to  the 
bereavement  felt  by  this  community,  and  to  adopt  such  measures 
of  respect  to  his  memory  as  the  occasion  demands." 

The  Hon.  F.  H.  Elmore,  laboring  under  severe  indisposition, 
addressed  himself  briefly  to  the  subject  of  the  meeting,  and  moved 
the  adoption  of  the  following  Preamble  and  Resolutions. 

The  citizens  of  Charleston,  in  common  with  the  people  of  the 
whole  State  of  South  Carolina,  feel  that  an  irreparable  misfor- 
tune has  befallen  us  in  the  death  of  our  Senator  John  Cald- 
well Calhoun.  He  has  been  endeared  to  us  by  more  than 
forty  years  of  faithful  services,  first  in  our  State  Legislature,  and 
afterward  in  the  Federal  Government.  In  all  that  time,  and  on 
all  occasions  of  public  need,  when  his  State  or  his  country  called 
(and  on  no  great  emergency  did  they  fail  to  do  so)  he  put  every 
object  of  personal  or  selfish  advantage  aside,  and  surrendered 
himself  wholly  to  the  public  good. 

To  us,  to  South  Carolina — we  all  know  he  gave  the  unlimited 
devotion  of  his  pure  heart.    To  us,  and  to  his  whole  country, 


90  REPORT  OF  THE 

in  common,  he  yielded,  with  prodigality,  all  the  capacities  of  his 
mighty  mind ;  a  wisdom  gained  in  the  deepest  study  of  our 
Constitution  and  system  of  government,  and  ripened  by  his  own 
long  experience  and  reflections  on  its  administration  ;  a  knowl -i 
edge  of  national  and  State  affairs,  and  of  their  relations  with 
great  measures  and  interests,  unsurpassed  ;  abilities  pre-eminent 
in  every  department  of  governmental  science,  and  our  internal 
policy  ;  and  a  statesmanship  and  sagacity  far-seeing,  profound, 
comprehensive  and  patriotic. 

Honesty,  candor  and  truthfulness,  imparted  to  these  great  and 
shining  qualities,  a  higher  power  and  wider  influence  over  the 
opinions  of  his  countrymen  and  the  policy  of  their  government, 
than  even  his  brilliant  genius  and  commanding  intellect.  And 
this  power  and  influence  so  honorably  acquired,  was  ever  as  use- 
fully employed,  on  all  domestic  questions,  in  the  side  of  justice, 
moderation  and  constitutional  right ;  and  in  our  relations  with 
Foreign  Powers,  for  the  maintenance  of  our  National  honor,  and 
the  preservation  of  peace  with  all  nations  of  the  world. 

By  the  use  he  made  of  his  great  capacities,  Mr.  Calaoun  has 
run  up  a  heavy  debt  on  his  country,  and  on  mankind — a  debt 
which  will  be  more  and  more  felt  and  acknowledged  in  the  pro- 
gress of  future  times.  The  lessons  of  his  wisdom  and  the  lights 
of  his  knowledge  cannot  now  be  lost.  They  will  guide,  not  only 
our  own  and  other  times,  but  our  own  and  other  nations.  Al- 
though he  has  gone  from  us  forever,  these  and  his  example  re- 
main— a  great  example  of  forty  years  in  the  affairs  of  life — forty 
eventful  and  trying  years,  in  which,  while  discharging  many 
high  public  trusts,  and  fulfilling  the  duties  of  the  home  circle, 
as  the  father  of  a  family,  friend  and  neighbor,  there  is  not  a  blot 
or  stain  upon  his  purity  or  uprightness  as  a  public  man  or  pri- 
vate citizen  ;  no  reproach  for  backwardness  or  doubt  in  assuming 
the  position  of  duty,  or  of  slackness  or  want  of  firmness  or  fidel- 
ity in  maintaining  it. 

In  all  that  long  period,  he  was  ever  in  the  advanced  front  of 
every  great  national  question,  and  maintained  openly  and  man- 
fully, on  all  occasions,  what  he  deemed  right,  with  a  courage  that 


MAYOR  OF  CHARLESTON.  91 

was  never  subdued  or  gave  way.  In  his  private  life,  he  was  de- 
serving of  all  commendation  for  the  symplicity  and  frugality  of 
his  style  of  living ;  for  his  modest  and  hearty  hospitality  ;  for  his 
constant  and  active  industry.  He  was  no  less  deserving  of  admi- 
ration in  public  affairs,  for  his  high  resolve  and  unconquerable 
spirit.  And  above  all  others,  in  this  last  act,  which  is  just  fin- 
ished, has  he,  at  a  moment  and  in  a  cause  where  such  an  exam- 
ple has  inappreciable  value,  given  us  a  lesson  of  patriotism  and 
of  exalted  courage,  far  more  heroic  than  a  thousand  deaths  in 
the  field  of  battle,  in  calmly  and  resolutely  surrendering  his  life, 
through  the  slow  process  ot  months  and  months  of  wasting  dis- 
ease, rather  than  abandon  the  post  where  the  call  of  duty  sta- 
tioned him.     Be  it  therefore 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  citizens  of  Charleston,  deplore  the 
death  of  our  Senator,  John  Caldwell  Calhoun,  as  a  heavy 
and  irreparable  public  misfortune. 

Resolved,  That  we  concur  in  the  arrangements  made  by  the 
City  Council  for  the  reception  of  the  body  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  and 
that  his  Excellency,  the  Governor,  be  requested  to  appoint  a 
committee,  to  consist  of  twenty-five  persons,  to  proceed  to  Wash- 
ington, to  procure  and  bring  his  remains  to  Charleston,  and  to 
co-operate  in  all  other  measures  for  their  final  disposition. 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  also  highly  approve  the  resolu- 
tion of  the  City  Council  to  erect  a  monument  to  his  memory  in 
the  city  square,  as  a  fitting  tribute  to  a  faithful  and  illustrious 
public  servant. 

Resolved,  That  the  City  Council  of  Charleston  be  requested 
to  select  some  fit  and  proper  person  to  prepare  and  deliver  an  eu- 
logy and  funeral  oration  on  the  life,  character,  and  services  of 
Mr.  Calhoun. 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  recommend  that  the  usual  badge 
of  mourning  be  worn  by  all  for  thirty  days. 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  deeply  sympathise  with  the  fami- 
ly of  Mr.  Calhoun  in  their  affliction  and  loss ;  and  that  the 
Chairman  of  this  meeting  be  requested  to  forward  them  copies 
of  these  proceedings. 


92  REPORT  OF  THE 

His  Excellency  Governor  Whitemarsh  B.  Seabrook,  in  second- 
ing the  motion  of  the  Hon.  F.  H.  Elmore,  feelingly  alluded  to  the 
loss  the  State  had  sustained. 

The  meeting  was  then  eloquently  addressed  by  the  Hon.  B. 
F.  Porter  and  Col.  Arthur  P.  Hayne,  when  the  question  was  ta- 
ken, and  the  preamble  and  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted. 

O.  A.  Andrews,  Esq.  rose  and  felicitously  alluded  to  the  assid- 
uous attention  paid  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Venable,  of  North  Carolina, 
and  other  friends,  to  our  deceased  Senator,  during  his  last  illnesSj 
and  moved  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  the  devoted  attention  and  active  sympathy 
which  marked  the  course  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Tenable,  of  North 
Carolina,  and  other  friends,  to  our  deceased  Senator,  have  exci- 
ted our  profound  sensibility.  We  feel  that  in  ministering  to  him, 
they  have  also  ministered  to  us.  We  will  cherish  these  offices 
of  kindness  to  our  departed  statesman  in  grateful  recollection. 

Which  was  also  unanimously  adopted. 

In  accordance  with  the  2nd  resolution  adopted  at  the  public 
meeting,  his  Excellency,  the  Governor,  appointed  the  following 
Committee  of  Twenty-five : 

DANIEL  RAYENEL,  Chairman, 


H.  W.  Conner, 

John  E.  Carew, 

H.  A.  DeSaussure, 

Col.  James  Gadsden, 

James  Legare, 

C.  G.  Memminger, 

E.  M.  Seabrook, 

C.  T.  Lowndes, 

James  Rose, 

P.  Delia  Torre, 

Henry  Gourdin, 

Thos.  Lehre, 

Alfred  Huger, 

Col.  A.  P.  Hayne, 

S.  Y.  Tupper, 

Chas.  Edmondston, 

W.  M.  Martin, 

A.  G.  Magrath, 

P.  C.  Gaillard, 

A.  Moise,  Jr. 

William  Aiken, 

G.  N.  Reynolds, 

G.  A.  Trenholm, 

John  Russell.                 * 

*  The  duties  assigned  to  this  committee,  and  the  completeness  with 
which  they  were  performed,  are  detailed  in  the  interesting  report  of  the 
Chairman  of  the  committee. 


MAYOR  OF  CHARLESTON.  93 

J  On  the  5th  April  the  City  Council  again  assembled,  and  in 
conformity  with  the  4th  resolution,  adopted  at  the  public  meeting 
of  citizens,  appointed  General  Hammond  to  deliver  the  funeral 
oration  on  the  life,  character  and  services  of  Mr.  Calhoun.  The 
following  communication  was  then  read  : 

Charleston,  April  5th,  1850. 
To  the  Honorable  the 

Mayor  and  Aldermen : 

Gentlemen  :— At  a  meeting,  held  this  day,  of  the  Committee 
of  Twenty-five,  appointed  by  his  Excellency,  the  Governor,  to 
proceed  to  Washington  to  receive  and  bring  home  the  remains  of 
the  Hon.  J.  C.  Calhoun,  the  following  resolution  was  adopted, 
which  is  respectfully  submitted  for  the  consideration  and  action 
of  your  honorable  body : 

Resolved,  That  as  it  has  been  communicated  to  this  commit- 
tee that  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  has  made  a  special  de- 
putation to  attend  the  body  of  Mr.  Calhoun  to  the  State  of 
South  Carolina,  the  Chairman  of  this  committee  be  requested  to 
communicate  this  information  to  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  of 
the  city  of  Charleston ;  and  that  in  consequence  of  this  informa- 
tion, it  be  respectfully  suggested  to  the  City  Council  to  appoint  a 
committee  from  the  parishes  of  St.  Philip  and  St.  Michael,  to  co- 
operate with  the  committee  of  Council,  in  reference  to  such  ar- 
rangements as  may  be  necessary  in  connection  with  the  expected 
arrival  of  the  body  of  Mr.  Calhoun: 

DANIEL  RAYENEL,  Chairman. 

Whereupon  the  following  resolution  was  adopted  : 

Resolved^  That  the  Mayor  appoint  a  committee  of  forty  citi- 
zens of  the  parishes  of  St.  Philip  and  St.  Michael,  to  co-operate 
with  the  committee  from  Council,  in  making  all  necessary  ar- 
rangements for  the  reception  of  the  remains  of  Mr.  Calhoun. 

The  following  resolutions  were  also  severally  moved  and 
adopted : 

Resolved^  That  in  the  opinion  of  Council,  the  city  of  Charles- 
ton, the  chief  metropolis  of  the  State,  may,  with  propriety,  ask 
for  herself  the  distinction  of  being  selected  as  the  final  resting 


94 


REPORT  OF  THE 


place  of  the  illustrious  Calhoun  ;  and  that  the  Mayor,  in  be- 
half of  Council  and  the  citizens  of  Charleston,  be  requested  to 
communicate  with  the  family  of  the  deceased,  and  earnestly  en- 
treat that  the  remains  of  him  we  loved  so  well  should  be  permit- 
ted to  repose  among  us. 

Resolved,  That  the  Mayor  be  further  requested  to  communi- 
cate with  his  Excellency,  the  Governor  of  the  State,  and  respect- 
fully solicit  his  co-operation  in  this  matter. 

Resolved^  That  his  Honor  the  Mayor,  by  proclamation,  re- 
quest the  citizens  of  Charleston  to  suspend  all  business  on  the 
day  of  the  arrival  of  the  remains  of  our  late  Senator,  John  C. 
Calhoun,  in  order  that  every  citizen  may  be  able  to  pay  a  last 
tribute  of  respect  to  him  who  served  us  so  long,  so  faithfully,  and 
so  well. 

In  conformity  with  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  City  Coun- 
cil, the  following  committee  of  citizens  was  appointed  to  co-ope- 
rate with  the  committee  from  Council  in  making  all  arrange- 
ments incident  to  the  occasion. 


Chan.  B.  F.  Dunkin, 
Hon.  E.  Frost, 
Hon.  J.  S.  Ashe, 
Hon.  W.  D.  Porter, 
Hon.  W.  J.  Grayson, 
N.  Heyward, 
James  Simons, 
D.  E.  Huger.junr. 
Nelson  Mitchell, 
F.  D.  Richardson, 
W.  H.  Houston, 
J.  L.  Petigru, 

F.  Lanneau, 
I.  W.  Hayne, 
W.  B.  Pringle, 
W.  C.  Dukes, 
Jno.  Rutledge, 
Gen.  Schnierle, 
T.  Tupper, 
Robert  Adger, 

G.  N.  Reynolds, 
W.  M.  Lawton, 


E.  Sebring, 
Robert  Martin, 
David  Lopez, 
Dr.  Bellinger, 
J.  H.  Ladson, 
And.  McDowall, 
A.  J.  White, 
W.  J.  Bennett, 
R.  N.  Gourdin, 
J.  F.  Blacklock, 
M.  C.  Mordecai, 
Wm.  Lloyd, 
Wm.  Middleton, 
S.  J.  Wagner, 
Wm.  Bird, 
Dr.  T.  Y.  Simons, 
G.  S.  Bryan, 
R.  W.  Hare, 
Alex.  Gordon, 
Dr.  Horlbeck, 
E.  L.  Kerrison, 
Chas.  Brennan. 


MAYOR  OF  CHARLESTON.  95 

The  committee  on  the  part  of  the  City  Council  were  Aldermen 
Banks,  Gilliland;  Porcher,  McNellage,  and  Drummond. 

The  committees  at  once  entered  upon  the  varied  duties  as- 
signed them— they  divided  themselves  into  sub-committees,  each 
charged  with  its  specific  duty.  The  magnitude  of  the  arrange- 
ments,  the  short  period  of  time  allowed  for  their  completion,  and 
the  ultimate  success  that  crowned  the  whole  when  put  into  action, 
attest  the  energy,  zeal,  and  correct  taste  exercised  on  the  occasion. 
A  chief  Marshal,  A.  G.  Magrath,  Esq.,  twelve  Marshals  and 
twelve  assistant  Marshals,  were  appointed  to  prepare  and  arrange 
the  order  of  Procession.  A  special  Guard  of  Honor,  Col.  A.  O. 
Andrews,  Chairman,  was  nominated,  charged  with  the  duty  of 
being  in  constant  attendance  on  the  remains,  to  render  all  neces- 
sary aid  in  their  removal,  from  the  time  of  their  arrival  to  their 
deposit  in  the  City  Hall.  A  committee,  consisting  of  two  hundred 
of  some  of  the  most  respected  citizens,  the  venerable  Jacob  Bond 
I'on,  Chairman,  was  also  appointed  to  serve  as  an  Honorary 
Guard  over  the  remains  while  they  lay  in  state  in  the  City  Hall,  and 
to  distribute  themselves  into  separate  watches  during  the  night. 

In  various  parts  of  the  State,  public  meetings  were  held  expres- 
sive of  the  general  grief,  and  deputations  appointed  to  repair  to 
Charleston  to  participate  in  the  funeral  ceremonies — to  these  de- 
putations the  hospitalities  of  the  city  of  Charleston  were  tendered, 
through  the  municipal  authorities,  and  committees  appointed  to 
meet  them  on  their  arrival  and  provide  for  their  comfort. 

The  Directors  of  the  Wilmington  and  Raleigh  Railroad  ten- 
dered a  free  passage  along  their  line,  and  the  Steamers  of  the 
Company,  to  the  committee  appointed  by  the  Executive  of  South 
Carolina — the  friends  and  relatives  of  the  deceased,  and  the  fune- 
ral cortege  that  should  accompany  the  remains — the  States 
through  which  the  Body  was  to  pass  on  its  homeward  way 
seemed  with  one  accord  to  rise  up  and  do  reverence  to  his  mem- 
ory. 

The  boom  of  the  signal  gun  over  the  waters  of  Charleston  har- 
bor, on  the  morning  of  the  25th  of  April,  announced  that  the  mor- 
tal remains  of  Carolina's  great  Statesman  were  approaching  their 


96  REPORT  OF  THE 

native  shores  to  receive  the  last  honors  of  a  mourning  people. 
At  12  m.,  the  steamer  Nina,  hearing  the  Body,  touched  Smith's 
wharf — on  board  were  the  committee  of  the  United  States  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  of  the  Sen- 
ate, the  committee  of  citizens  from  Wilmington,  North  Carolina, 
the  committee  of  twenty-five  from  South  Carolina,  and  the  sub- 
committee of  arrangements.  The  revenue  cutter  Gallatin,  the 
steamers  Metamora  and  Pilot,  acting  as  an  escort,  with  colors  at 
half  mast  and  draped  in  mourning,  lay  in  her  wake.  Profound 
silence  reigned  around — no  idle  spectator  loitered  on  the  spot — 
the  curiosity  incident  to  the  hour  was  merged  into  a  deep  feeling 
of  respect,  that  evinced  itself  by  being  present  only  where  that 
sentiment  could  with  most  propriety  be  displayed.  The  solemn 
minute  gun — the  wail  of  the  distant  bell,  the  far  off  spires  shrou- 
ded in  the  drapery  of  grief— the  hearse  and  its  attendant  mourn- 
ers waiting  on  the  spot,  alone  bore  witness  that  the  pulse  of  life 
still  beat  within  the  city — that  a  whole  people  in  voiceless  woe 
were  about  to  receive  and  consign  to  earth  all  that  was  mortal  of 
a  great  and  good  citizen.  The  arrangements  for  landing  having 
been  made,  the  committee  of  Reception  advanced,  and  through  its 
Chairman  tendered  a  welcome,  and  the  hospitalities  of  the  city, 
to  the  committee  of  citizens  from  Wilmington,  North  Carolina — 
to  which  the  Chairman  of  that  committee  feelingly  responded. 
The  body,  enclosed  in  an  iron  case,  partially  shaped  to  the  form, 
was  then  borne  by  the  Guard  of  Honor  (clad  in  deep  mourning, 
with  white  silk  scarfs  across  the  shoulder,)  'from  the  boat  to  the 
magnificent  funeral  Car  drawn  up  to  receive  it ;  the  pall  prepared 
of  black  velvet,  edged  with  heavy  silk  fringe,  and  enflounced  in 
silver,  with  the  escutcheon  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina  in  the 
centre  and  four  corners,  was  spread  over  it.  The  Pall  Bearers, 
composed  of  twelve  Ex-Governors  and  Lt.  Governors  of  the  State, 
arranged  themselves  at  the  sides  of  the  Car,  the  procession  ad- 
vanced preceded  by  a  military  escort  of  three  companies,  the  Ger- 
man Fusiliers,  Washington  Light  Infantry,  and  Marion  Artillery, 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Manigault.  The  various  com- 
mittees and  family  of  the  deceased  followed  in  carriages,  the  dri- 


MAYOR  OF  CHARLESTON.  97 

vers  and  footmen  clad  in  mourning,  with  hatbands  and  scarfs  of 
white  crape.  In  this  order  the  funeral  train  slowly  moved  for- 
ward to  the  sound  of  muffled  drums  to  the  Citadel  square,  the 
place  assigned  in  the  arrangements  made  where  the  committee 
from  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  would  surrender  the  remains 
under  their  charge  to  the  Executive  of  South  Carolina,  and  the 
funeral  procession  proceed  to  the  City  Hall. 

At  the  Citadel  a  most  imposing  spectacle  was  presented.  The 
entire  front  and  battlements  were  draped  in  mourning,  and  its 
wide  portal  heavily  hung  with  black — the  spacious  area  on  the 
South  was  densely  filled  with  the  whole  military  force  of  the 
city  drawn  up  in  proper  array ;  at  different  points,  respectively 
assigned  them,  stood  the  various  orders  of  Free  Masons,  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Sons  of  Temperance,  the 
Order  of  Rechabites,  in  their  rich  regalia,  the  different  Fire  Com- 
panies in  uniform,  the  various  Societies  and  Associations — the 
pupils  of  public  and  private  schools  with  their  tutors,  bearing 
banners  inscribed  with  the  names  of  the  several  States  of  the  con- 
federacy, their  arms  and  mottoes.  The  Seamen  with  their  Pas- 
tor, the  Rev.  Mr.  Yates,  bearing  a  banner  with  this  inscription 
"  The  Children  of  Old  Ocean  mourn  for  him" — and  citizens  on 
horse  and  foot.  The  most  perfect  order  prevailed,  no  sound  was 
heard,  but  the  subdued  murmur  of  the  collected  thousands.  At 
the  appointed  hour  the  funeral  Car  slowly  entered  the  grounds 
from  the  east,  and  halted  before  the  gates  of  the  Citadel ;  the 
hush  of  death  brooded  over  all  as  the  hearse  towering  aloft,  its 
mourning  curtains  waving  in  air  revealed  to  the  assembled  mul- 
titude the  sarcophagus  reposing  within. 

In  the  centre  of  the  square,  and  directly  fronting  the  gates  of 
the  Citadel,  stood  the  Governor  of  the  State,  attended  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  and  the  Dele- 
gates from  different  sections  of  the  State.  On  the  right  the  May- 
or and  Aldermen  of  the  city,  habited  in  deep  mourning,  their 
wands  of  office  bound  with  crape  ;  on  the  left,  the  Rev'd.  the  Cler- 
gy of  all  denominations.  In  front  of  the  funeral  car  were  ar- 
ranged the  various  committees  who  had  attended  the  removal  of 
7 


98  REPORT  OF  THE 

the  remains  from  the  seat  of  Government ;  at  the  proper  moment 
they  slowly  advanced  with  heads  uncovered,  preceded  by  the 
Sergeant-at-Arms  of  the  U.  S.  Senate,  with  his  golden  rod,  to  the 
spot  occupied  by  the  Governor  and  Suite.  Alderman  Banks, 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Reception,  stood  forth,  and  an- 
nounced to  the  Governor  the  presence  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Mason, 
Chairman  of  the  Senate's  Committee,  who,  with  a  manner  deeply 
solemn  and  impressive,  thus  surrendered  his  sacred  trust. 
"  Governor  Seabrook : 

"  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  by  its  order  has  deputed  a 
committee  of  six  Senators,  to  bring  back  the  remains  of  their  col- 
league, your  illustrious  statesman,  John  Caldwell  Calhoun, 
to  his  native  State.  He  fell  in  the  fullness  of  his  fame,  without 
stain  or  blot,  without  fear  and  without  reproach,  a  martyr  to  the 
great  and  holy  cause  to  which  his  life  had  been  devoted,  the  safe- 
ty and  equality  of  the  Southern  States  in  their  federal   alliance. 

It  is  no  disparagement  to  your  State  or  her  people,  to  say  their 
loss  is  irreparable,  for  Calhoun  was  a  man  of  a  century ;  but  to 
the  entire  South,  the  absence  of  his  counsels  can  scarcely  be 
supplied  :  with  a  judgment  stern,  with  decided  and  indomitable 
purpose,  there  was  united  a  political  and  moral  purity,  that  threw 
around  him  an  atmostphere  which  nothing  unholy  could  breathe 
and  yet  live.  But,  sir,  I  am  not  sent  here  to  eulogise  your  ho- 
nored dead ;  that  has  been  already  done  in  the  Senate  House,  with 
the  memories  of  his^recent  triumphs  there  clustering  around  us, 
and  by  those  far  abler  than  I.  It  is  our  melancholy  duty  only, 
which  I  have  performed  on  behalf  of  the  committee  of  the  Senate, 
to  surrender  all  that  remains  of  him  on  earth  to  the  State  of 
South  Carolina,  and  having  done  this,  our  mission  is  ended. 
We  shall  return  to  our  duties  in  the  Senate,  and  those  performed, 
to  our  separate  and  distant  homes,  bearing  with  us  the  treasured 
memory  of  his  exalted  worth  and  the  great  example  of  his  devo- 
ted and  patriotic  life." 

Mr.  Mason  having  concluded,  Governor  Seabrook  responded  : 

■  I  receive,  Mr.  Chairman,  with  the  deepest  emotions,  the  mor- 
tal remains  of  him  for  whom  South  Carolina  entertained  an  un- 


MAYOR  OF  CHARLESTON.  99 

bounded  affection.  Implicitly  relying  on  the  faithful  exercise  of 
his  great  moral  and  intellectual  endowments,  on  no  occasion,  for 
a  period  of  about  forty  years,  which  constituted  indeed  his  whole 
political  life,  did  her  confidence  in  him  surfer  the  slightest  abate- 
ment. Although  the  spirit  that  animated  its  tenement  of  clay 
now  inhabits  another  and  a  purer  mansion,  yet  the  name  of  John 
Caldwell  Calhoun  will  live  while  time  shall  be  permitted  to 
endure.  That  name  is  printed  in  indelible  characters  on  the 
hearts  of  those  whose  feelings  and  opinions  he  so  truly  reflected, 
and  will  forever  be  fondly  cherished,  not  only  by  his  own  coun- 
trymen, but  by  every  human  being  who  is  capable  of  apprecia- 
ting the  influence  of  a  gigantic  intellect,  unceasingly  incited  by 
the  dictates  of  wisdom,  virtue  and  patriotism. 

"In  the  name  of  the  people  of  the  State  he  so  dearly  loved,  I 
tender,  through  you,  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  their 
warmest  acknowledgments  for  the  honors  conferred  by  that  dis- 
tinguished body  on  the  memory  of  our  illustrious  statesman ;  and, 
by  this  committee,  I  ask  their  acceptance  of  their  heartfelt  grati- 
tude for  the  very  kind  and  considerate  manner  in  which,  gentle- 
men, the  melancholy  yet  honorable  task  assigned  you  has  been 
executed. 

"  The  first  of  April,  1850,  exhibited  a  scene  in  the  halls  of  the 
Federal  Congress  remarkable  for  its  moral  sublimity.  On  that 
day,  the  North  and  the  South,  the  East  and  the  West,  together 
harmoniously  met  at  the  altar  consecrated  to  the  noblest  affec- 
tions of  our  nature,  and  moved  by  a  common  impulse,  portrayed 
in  strains  of  fervid  eloquence,  before  the  assembled  wisdom  of 
the  land,  the  character  and  services  of  him  around  whose  bier 
we  are  assembled.  To  every  member  of  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives,  whose  voice  was  heard  on  that  solemn  occa- 
sion. South  Carolina  proffers  the  right  hand  of  fellowship. 

"  I  trust  it  will  not  be  considered  a  departure  from  the  strictest 
rules  of  propriety,  to  say  to  an  honorable  member  of  Congress 
before  me,  that  the  Palmetto  State  owes  him  a  debt  of  gratitude 
which,  at  her  bidding,  and  in  obedience  to  my  own  feelings,  I 
am  imperatively  summoned  at  this  time  to  liquidate  in  part. — 


100  REPORT  OF  THE 

From  the  first  day  of  Mr.  Calhoun's  protracted  illness,  to  the 
moment  when  death  achieved  his  victory,  you,  Mr.  Venable, 
were  rarely  absent  from  his  bed-side.  With  the  anxious  solici- 
tude of  a  devoted  friend,  you  ministered  to  his  wants,  and  watch- 
ed the  reflux  of  that  noble  stream  whose  fertilizing  powers  were 
about  to  be  buried  in  the  great  ocean  of  eternity.  For  services 
so  disinterested,  spontaneously  bestowed  by  a  stranger,  I  offer 
the  tribute  of  thanks,  warm,  from  overflowing  hearts." 

Mr.  Venable  replied : 

*  The  manner  in  which  your  Excellency  has  been  pleased  to 
refer  to  the  attention  which  I  was  enabled  to  bestow  on  our  illus- 
trious friend,  has  deeply  affected  my  heart.  It  is  but  the  repeat- 
ed expression  of  the  feelings  of  the  people  of  Charleston,  on  the 
same  subject,  contained  in  a  resolution  which  has  reached  me, 
and  for  which  manifestation  of  kindness,  I  now  return  to  you 
and  to  them  my  most  sincere  and  heartfelt  thanks.  Nothing  has 
so  fully  convinced  me  of  the  extended  popularity,  I  should  rath- 
er say,  feeling  of  veneration,  towards  the  statesman,  whose  death 
has  called  us  together  to-day,  as  the  high  estimate  which  you 
and  your  people  have  placed  upon  the  services  of  an  humble 
friend.  Sir,  the  impulses  of  humanity  would  have  demanded 
nothing  less,  and  that  man  is  more  than  rewarded  who  is  per- 
mitted to  soothe  the  pain  or  alleviate  the  suffering  of  a  philoso- 
pher, sage,  patriot,  and  statesman,  so  exalted  above  his  cotempo- 
raries,  that  were  we  not  admonished  by  his  subjection  to  the  in- 
vasion of  disease  and  death,  we  might  well  doubt  whether  he 
did  not  belong  to  a  superior  race.  To  be  even  casually  associa- 
ted with  his  memory,  in  the  gratitude  of  a  State,  is  more  than  a 
reward  for  any  services  which  I  could  render  him.  Sir,  as  his 
life  was  a  chronicle  of  instructive  events,  so  his  death  but  fur- 
nished a  commentary  on  that  life.  It  is  said  of  Hampden,  when 
in  the  agonies  of  death,  rendered  most  painful  by  the  nature  of 
his  wound,  that  he  exclaimed — '  O  God  of  my  fathers,  save,  save 
my  country  !"  thus  breathing  the  desire  of  his  soul  on  earth  into 
the  vestibule  of  the  court  of  heaven.  So  our  illustrious  friend, 
but  a  few  hours  before  his  departure,  employed  the  last  effort  in 


MAYOR  OF  CHARLESTON.  101 

which  he  was  enabled  to  utter  more  than  a  single  sentence,  say- 
ing, 'If  I  had  my  health  and  strength  to  devote  one  hour  to  my 
country  in  the  Senate,  I  could  do  more  than  in  my  whole  life.' — 
He  is  gone  !  and  when,  m  my  passage  here,  I  saw  the  manifes- 
tations of  deep  feeling,  of  heartfelt  veneration,  in  Virginia  and 
my  own  Carolina,  I  felt  as  one  making  a  pilgrimage  to  the 
tomb  of  his  father,  whose  sad  heart  was  cheered  by  sponta- 
neous testimonials  of  the  merits  of  the  one  he  loved  and  honor- 
ed. But  when,  with  this  morning's  dawn,  I  approached  your 
harbor  and  saw  the  city  in  the  peaceful  rest  of  the  Sabbath, 
heard  not  the  stroke  of  a  hammer  or  the  hum  of  voices  engaged 
in  the  business  of  life  ;  when,  from  the  deck  of  the  steamer,  in 
the  midst  of  your  harbor,  I  could  descry  the  habiliments  of  mourn- 
ing which  consecrated  your  houses ;  the  stillness — the  solemn 
stillness — spoke  a  language  that  went  to  my  heart.  But  when, 
added  to  this,  I  behold  this  vast  multitude  of  mourners,  I  ex- 
claim :  '  A  people's  tears  water  the  dust  of  one  who  loved  and 
served  them.'  No  military  fame  was  his  ;  he  never  set  a  squad- 
ron in  the  field.  The  death  of  the  civilian  and  patriot  who  loved 
his  country,  and  his  whole  country,  gave  rise  to  this  great  de- 
monstration of  sorrow  and  regard.  Permit  me  again  to  assure 
your  Excellency  and  the  people  of  Charleston,  and  of  South  Car- 
olina, that  I  shall  ever  cherish,  as  one  of  the  dearest  recollections 
of  my  life,  the  expressions  of  kindness  which  have  been  made 
to  me  as  the  friend  and  the  companion  in  the  sick  chamber  of 
John  C.  Calhoun.  His  society  and  his  friendship  were  more 
than  a  compensation  for  any  attentions  which  any  man  could 
bestow.  Such  were  his  gifts,  that  whether  in  sickness  or  in 
health,  no  man  retired  from  a  conversation  with  him  who  was  not 
greatly  his  debtor.  By  the  courtesies  of  this  day  and  the  asso- 
ciation of  my  name  with  his,  I  am  both  his  debtor  and  yours  ; 
the  sincere  acknowledgment  of  which,  I  tender  to  your  Excel- 
lency, requesting  that  it  may  be  received  by  you,  both  for  your- 
self and  the  people  whose  sovereignty  you  represent." 

Governor  Seabrook  now  turned  to  the  Hon.  T.  Leger  Hutch- 
inson, Mayor  of  the  city,  and  said — 


102  REPORT  OF  THE 

"  Mr.  Mayor  : — I  commit  to  your  care  these  precious  remains. 
After  the  solemn  ceremonies  of  the  day,  I  request  that  you  put 
over  them  a  Guard  of  Honor,  until  the  hour  shall  arrive  to  con- 
sign them  to  their  temporary  resting  place." 
To  which  the  Mayor  replied — 

"  Gov.  Seabrook : — As  the  organ  of  the  corporation  of  the  city 
of  Charleston,  I  receive  from  you,  with  profound  emotion,  the 
mortal  remains  of  John  Caldwell  Calhoun — a  sacred  trust, 
confided  to  us,  to  be  retained  until  the  desire  of  the  people  of 
South  Carolina,  expressed  through  their  constituted  authorities, 
shall  be  declared  respecting  their  final  resting  place." 

The  ceremony  of  the  reception  of  the  body  from  the  hands  of 
the  Senatorial  committee  by  the  Executive  of  the  State  being 
over,  the  members  constituting  the  civic  and  military  portions  of 
the  solemn  pageant  were,  with  consummate  skill,  arranged  in 
their  respective  positions  by  the  Chief  Marshal  and  his^assistants. 
With  order  and  precision  each  department  fell  into  its  allotted 
place,  and  the  whole  mass  moved  onward,  a  vast  machine,  obey- 
ing, with  perfect  motion,  the  impulse  given  by  the  directing  power. 
The  gates  opening  from  the  Citadel  square  upon  Boundary 
street,  (the  name  since  changed  to  Calhoun  street,)  through  which 
the  procession  passed,  were  supported  on  each  side  by  Palmet- 
to trees,  draped  in  mourning ;  from  the  branches  which  over- 
arched the  gate-way  hung  the  escutcheon  of  the  State ;  between 
the  folds  of  funeral  cloth,  in  wnich  it  was  enveloped,  appeared 
the  inscription — "  Carolina  mourns."  The  following  was  the 
order  and  route  of  procession  as  laid  down  in  the  programme  of 
the  Marshals. 

Marshal. 

Music. 

Cavalry. 

Detachment  of  U.  S.  Troops  from  Fort  Moultrie,  under 

Col.  Irwin. 

Troops  of  the  4th  Brigade. 

Marshal. 

Sub-Committe  of  Ten. 


MAYOR  OF  CHARLESTON.  103 

Mayor  and  Aldermen  of  the  City. 
Funeral  Car  with  the  Body. 


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Family  of  the  deceased. 

Senate  Committee,  and  Committee  of  House  of  Representatives. 

Committee  of  Twenty-five. 

Committee  of  Pendleton. 

Committee  of  Forty,  and  other  Committees  in  attendance  on 

the  Body. 

Marshal. 

Music. 

His  Excellency  the  Governor,  and  Suite. 

Foreign  Consuls. 

Civil  and  Military  Officers  of  the  United  States. 

Civil  and  Military  Officers  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina. 

Members  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 

Revolutionary  Officers  and  Soldiers. 

Surviving  Officers  and  members  of  Palmetto  Regiment. 

Committees  and  Delegates  from  South  Carolina,  and  other 

States. 

Marshal. 

Music. 

Fire  Department. 

Marshal. 

Music. 


104  REPORT  OF  THE 

Professors  and  Students  of  the  Colleges  of  the  State  and  City. 

Teachers  and  scholars  of  High  Schools,  and  of  private 

Academies  and  Schools. 

Teachers  and  Scholars  of  Free  Schools. 

Instructors  and  Children  of  the  Orphan  House. 

Marshal. 

Music. 

St.  Andrew's  Society. 

St.   George's   Society. 

South  Carolina  Society. 
Charleston  Library  Society. 

Fellowship  Society. 

German  Friendly  Society. 

The  Cincinnati. 

The  '76  Association. 

St.  Patrick's  Benevolent  Society. 

New  England  Society. 

Charleston  Port  Society. 

Hibernian  Society. 

Medical  Society. 

Hebrew  Orphan  Society. 

Mechanics'  Society. 

Charleston  Marine  Society. 

Typographical  Society. 

Charleston  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

Hebrew  Benevolent  Society. 

French  Benevolent  Society. 

South  Carolina  Mechanics  Association. 

Methodist  Benevolent  Society. 

The  Bible  Society. 


MAYOR  OF  CHARLESTON.  105 

4th  of  July  Association. 
The  Irish  Mutual  Benevolent  Society. 
Marshal. 
Music. 
Order  of  Ancient  Free  Masons. 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 
Order  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance. 
Independent  order  of  Rechabites. 
Marshal. 
Temperance  Societies. 
Marshal. 
Music. 
Captains  of  Yessels. 
Seamen  in  Port. 
Marshal. 
Citizens  of  the  State,  and  adjoining  States. 
Marshal. 
Citizens  on  Horseback. 
The  procession  moved  from  the  Citadel  square  down  Bounda- 
ry to  King  Street,   down  King  Street  to   Hasell,  through  Hasell 
to  Meeting   street,   down  Meeting  to  South  Bay  Battery,  along 
the  Battery  to  East  Bay,  up  East  Bay  to  Broad   Street  to  the 
City  Hall. 

Along  the  streets  through  which  the  procession  passed,  the 
public  and  private  buildings  and  Temples  of  worship  were 
draped  with  mourning,  the  windows  and  doors  of  the  houses 
were  closed,  and  no  one  was  seen  to  gaze  upon  the  spectacle  ;  it 
seemed  that  those  who  did  not  participate  directly  in  the  obse- 
quies, were  mourning  within. 

When  the  head  of  the  escort  reached  the  City  Hall,  it  halted  ; 
the  troops  formed  into  line  on  the  South  side  of  Broad  Street,  fa- 
cing the  City  Hall.     The  funeral  car,  drawn  by  six  horses,   ca- 


106  REPORT  OF  THE 

parisoned  in  mourning  trappings  that  touched  the  ground,  each 
horse  attended  by  a  groom  clad  in  black,  slowly  moved  along  the 
line  until  it  reached  the  front  steps  of  the  City  Hall.  The  divi- 
sion composing  the  procession  then  passed  through  the  space  in- 
tervening between  the  body  and  the  military,  with  heads  un- 
covered— the  Marshals  having  the  respective  divisions  in  charge, 
dismounted,  and  leading  their  horses,  proceeded  to  the  points 
where  the  divisions  were  to  be  dismissed.  When  the  last  divi- 
sion had  passed  through,  the  body  was  then  removed  from  the 
funeral  car  by  the  Guard  of  Honor,  borne  up  the  steps,  and  re- 
ceived at  the  threshold  of  the  City  Hall  by  the  Mayor  and  Al- 
dermen ;  it  was  then  deposited  within  the  magnificent  catafal- 
que prepared  for  its  reception. 

Here  the  body  remained  in  state  until  the  next  day,  under  the 
special  charge  of  the  Honorary  Guard  of  two  hundred  citizens, 
who  kept  watch  at  intervals  during  the  day  and  night.  Thous- 
ands of  citizens  and  strangers  of  all  sexes,  ages  and  conditions 
in  life,  repaired  to  the  City  Hall  to  pay  their  tribute  of  respect  to 
the  illustrious  dead ;  the  most  perfect  propriety  and  -decorum 
prevailed  ;  the  incessant  stream  of  visiters  entered  by  the  main 
doors,  passed  upward  to  the  catafalque,  ascended,  gazed  upon 
the  sarcophagus  resting  within,  and  in  silence  retired  through 
the  passage  in  the  rear.  The  iron  case  that  enshrined  the  body, 
and  the  tomb-shaped  structure  upon  which  it  lay,  were  covered 
with  flowers,  the  offerings  of  that  gentler  sex,  who  in  sorrow  had 
lingered  around  its  precincts. 

The  ceremonies  of  the  day  completed,  the  various  deputations 
and  committees  of  this  and  other  States,  who  had  repaired  to  the 
city  in  performance  of  the  mournful  duties  assigned  them,  were 
invited  to  the  Council  Chamber,  where  the  hospitalities  of  the 
city  were  tendered  by  the  municipal  authorities  ;  they  were  af- 
terwards escosted  to  the  lodgings  provided  for  them  by  the  com- 
mittees appointed  for  the  purpose.  The  committee  from  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  re- 
paired to  the  head  quarters  of  his  Excellency,  Gov.  Seabroook, 


MAYOR  OF  CHARLESTON.  107 

where  they  were  received  and  entertained  as  the  guests  of  South 
Carolina  during  their  stay. 

The  next  day,  the  26th  of  April,  was  appointed  for  the  re- 
moval of  the  remains  to  the  tomb.  At  early  dawn  the  bells  re- 
sumed their  toll ;  business  remained  suspended,  and  all  the  evi- 
dences of  public  mourning  were  continued. 

At  10  o'clock,  a  civic  procession,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Marshals,  having  been  formed,  the  body  was  then  removed  from 
the  catafalque  in  the  City  Hall,  and  borne  on  a  bier  by  the  guard 
of  honor  to  St.  Philip's  Church  ;  on  reaching  the  church,  which 
was  draped  in  deepest  mourning,  the  cortege  proceeded  up  the 
centre  aisle  to  a  stand  covered  with  black  velvet,  upon  which  the 
bier  was  deposited.  After  an  anthem  sung  by  a  full  choir,  the 
Right  Rev.  Dr.  Gadsden,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese,  with  great  feel- 
ing and  solemnity  read  the  burial  service,  to  which  succeeded  an 
eloquent  funeral  discourse  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Miles.  The  holy  rites 
ended,  the  body  was  again  borne  by  the  guard  of  honor  to  the  West- 
ern cemetery  of  the  church,  to  the  tomb  erected  for  its  tempora- 
ry abode,  a  solid  structure  of  Masonry  raised  above  the  surface, 
and  lined  with  cedar  wood.  Near  by,  pendent  from  the  tall 
spar  that  supported  it,  drooped  the  flag  of  the  Union,  its  folds 
mournfully  sweeping  the  verge  of  the  tomb,  as  swayed  by  the 
passing  wind.  Wrapped  in  the  pall  that  first  covered  it  on  reach- 
ing the  "shores  of  Carolina,  the  iron  coffin,  with  its  sacred  trust, 
was  lowered  to  its  resting  place,  and  the  massive  marble  slab, 
simply  inscribed  with  the  name  of  "  Calhoun,"  adjusted  to  its 
position.  The  lingering  multitude  then  slowly  passed  from  the 
burial  ground — 

"  And  we  left  him  alone  with  his  glory." 

The  last  offices  of  respect  and  veneration,  such  as  no  man 
ever  received  from  the  hearts  and  hands  of  Carolinians,  had 
been  rendered,  but  it  was  felt  by  all  that  no  monument  could  be 
raised  too  high  for  his  excellence,  no  record  too  enduring  for  his 
virtue. 

"Tanto  nomini  nullum  par  elogium." 


108  RESOLUTIONS,  LETTERS,  &c 

For  many  weeks  after  the  interment,  the  marble  that  covered 
the  tomb  was  daily  strewn  with  roses  and  other  fragrant  flow- 
ers, and  vases  containing  such,  and  filled  with  water  freshly  re- 
newed, were  placed  around,  the  spontaneous  offerings  of  the 
people.  An  oak,  the  emblem  of  his  strength  of  character,  was 
planted  at  the  foot,  and  a  willow,  whose  branches  soon  drooped 
over  the  grave,  became  a  type  of  the  general  sorrow. 

T.  L.  HUTCHINSON,  Mayor  of  Charleston. 


RESOLUTIONS  OF   THE   CITY  COUNCIL   OF  CHARLES- 
TON, IN  RELATION  TO  THE    DISPOSAL  OF 
THE  BODY  OF  MR.  CALHOUN 

Council  Chamber,  \ 

April  5th,  1850.      J 

The  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  Council,  the  city  of  Charles- 
ton— the  chief  metropolis  of  the  State — may,  with  propriety,  ask 
for  herself  the  distinction  of  being  selected  as  the  final  resting 
place  of  the  illustrious  Calhoun.  And  that  his  Honor,  the  May- 
or, in  behalf  of  Council  and  the  citizens  of  Charleston,  be  re- 
quested to  communicate  with  the  family  of  the  deceased,  and 
earnestly  entreat  that  the  remains  of  him  whom  we  loved  so 
well  should  be  permitted  to  repose  amongst  us. 

Resolved,  That  the  Mayor  be  further  requested  to  communi- 
cate with  his  Excellency,  the  Governor  of  the  State,  and  respect- 
fully solicit  his  co-operation  in  this  matter. 

From  the  minutes. 

JAMES  C.  NORRIS,  Clerk  of  Council. 
To  his  Excellency, 

Governor  Seabrook. 


RESOLUTIONS,  LETTERS,  &c.  109 

TO  T.  L.  HUTCHINSON,  IN  RELATION  TO  THE  TEMPO- 
RARY DEPOSITS  OF  MR.  CALHOUN'S  REMAINS. 

Executive  Department,  ) 

Edisto  Island,  April  15,  1850.  \ 
Hon.  T.  Leger  Hutchinson, 

Sir  :  In  my  letter  to  you,  of  the  10th  inst.  I  stated  my  resolu- 
tion concerning  the  disposal  of  the  remains  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  on 
their  arrival  in  this  State. 

Mr.  Gourdin,  on  the  part  of  the  citizens  of  Charleston,  and  Mr. 
Banks,  of  the  City  Council,  having  called  on  me  to  reiterate  the 
ardent  desire  of  the  people  of  your  city,  that  the  body  of  our  il- 
lustrious statesman  should  temporarily  be  deposited  in  the  me- 
tropolis, there  to  await  the  final  action  of  the  Legislature,  it  is 
only  necessary  for  me  to  assure  you,  that  to  the  wish  of  the  sons 
of  Mr.  Calhoun,  now,  I  believe,  in  Charleston,  I  shall  most 
cheerfully  assent.  To  them,  therefore,  I  re-refer  the  delicate  mat- 
ter, in  the  firm  persuasion  that  their  decision  will  meet  with  uni- 
versal approval. 

As  germain  to  the  subject,  it  is  proper  I  should  repeat  what  I 
personally  said  to  you,  that  whatever  arrangements  may  be  made 
by  the  people  and  authorities  of  Charleston,  will  be  acceptable 
to  me,  without  any  interference  on  my  part.  I  submit  the  mode 
and  manner  of  accomplishing  the  object  in  view  to  their  judg- 
ment. Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  serv't. 
WHITEMARSH  B.  SEABROOK. 


FROM  LIEUT.  W.    G.    DeSAUSSURE,    TENDERING  THE 

SERVICES    OF    THE    WASHINGTON    ARTILLERY 

TO  GUARD  THE  REMAINS  OF  MR.  CALHOUN  ON 

THEIR  ARRIVAL  IN  CHARLESTON. 

Charleston,  April  15th,  1850. 
To  his  Excellency,  W.  B.  Seabrook, 

Governor  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina : 
Sir  :  Understanding  that  in  the  reception  of  the  remains  of 
Mr.  Calhoun,  the  military  of  this  place  will   be  called  upon  to 


110  RESOLUTIONS,  LETTERS,  &c. 

participate  in  the  solemn  ceremonies,  I  beg  leave  respectfully  to 
tender  to  you  as  a  Guard  of  Honor,  during  the  night  that  the  re- 
mains will  rest  in  Charleston,  the  Washington  Artillery. 
I  remain,  sir,  very  respectfully, 

Your  Excellency's  obedient  servant, 

WIMOT  G.  DeSAUSSURE, 
Lieut.  ComoVg.  Washington  Artillery. 


Charleson,  6th  May,  1850. 
Dear  Sir  : — At  a  meeting  of  the  congregation  of  St.  Philip's 
Church,  held  yesterday,  the  5th  inst.  the  following  resolution  was 
unanimously  adopted,  which  I  take  great  pleasure  in  sending  to 
you: 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Vestry  are  hereby  authorized  to  grant  to 
the  State  the  lot  or  square  of  land  in  our  cemetery  now  occupied 
by  the  tomb  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  if  it  be  determined  upon  as  his 
burial  place ;  and  are  requested  to  make  no  charge  for  its  occu- 
pation temporarily  for  the  deposite  of  his  remains,  should  they 
be  removed. 

I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

THOMAS  G.  PRIOLEAU. 
Chair'n.  of  the  Vestry  of  St.  Philip's  Church. 
To  Robert  N.  Gourdin, 

Chairman  Sub-Committee,  fyc. 


RESOLUTIONS  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE  OF  PENNSYL- 
VANIA IN  RELATION  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  MR. 
CALHOUN. 

Executive  Chamber,      \ 
Harrisburg,  April  22d,  1850.    \ 

To  His  Excellency  W.  B.  Seabrook, 

Governor  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina. 

Dear  Sir : — The  accompanying  Resolutions  of  the  Legislature 

of  this  State  have  been  presented  to  me  for  transmission  to  your 


RESOLUTIONS,  LETTERS,  <fcc.  Ill 

Excellency,  with  a  request  that   the  same  be  communicated  .  to 
the  Legislature  of  South  Carolina. 

In  performing  this  duty,  allow  me  to  express  my  personal  re- 
gard for  the  social  and  public  virtues  of  the  illustrious   deceased, 
and  my  deep  sense  of  the  great  loss  which   this  dispensation  of 
Providence  has  inflicted  upon  the  American  Nation. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c, 

WM.  F.  JOHNSTON. 


RESOLUTIONS 

Of  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  relative  to  the  death  of  the 
Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun. 

Whereas,  it  has  pleased  an  all  wise  Providence  to  remove  from 
the  scenes  of  earth,  one  of  America's  most  distinguished  sons 
whose  name  has  been  associated  with  her  history  during  the  last 
forty  years,  and  whose  distinguished  talent,  private  virtues,  and 
purity  of  character,  have  shed  lustre  on  her  name. 

And  whereas,  it  is  becoming  and  proper  that  society,  whilst 
humbly  bowing  to  the  dispensations  of  infinite  wisdom,  should,  in 
such  cases,  testify  its  sense  of  the  worth  and  exalted  character  of 
the  illustrious  deceased,  by  appropriate  tributes  of  respect  to  his 
memory,  forgetting  all  points  of  difference,  and  cherishing  the 
recollection  only  of  his  virtues. 

Be  it  therefore  resolved  unanimously  by  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  in 
General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  authority 
of  the  same, 

That  this  General  Assembly  has  heard  with  profound  sensi- 
bility and  heartfelt  sorrow,  of  the  death  of  the  Hon.  John  C. 
Calhoun,  of  South  Carolina,  for  whom,  in  his  long  and  distin- 
guished public  career,  whilst  often  differing  from  his  views  and 
policy,  we  have  ever  entertained  the  most  profound  respect  j  and 


112  RESOLUTIONS,  LETTERS,  &c. 

in  whose  private  virtues,  and  personal  chaiacter,   there  has  been 
everything  to  win  admiration,  and  conciliate  offection. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  further  testimony  of  respect  for  the  me- 
mory of  the  deceased,  an  extract  from  the  Journal  of  each  House, 
to  be  signed  by  the  Speakers,  be  communicated  to  the  Governor, 
with  a  request  that  he  forward  the  same  to  the  Widow  and  Fam- 
ily of  the  deceased,  with  a  letter  of  condolence,  expressing  the 
sincere  sympathy  of  this  General  Assembly  with  them  in  this, 
their  afflicting  bereavement. 

Resolved^  That  the  Governor  be  further  requested  to  forward 
a  copy  of  the  foregoing  Resolutions  to  the  Governor  of  South 
Carolina,  with  a  request  that  he  communicate  the  same  to  the 
Legislature  of  said  Commonwealth. 

J.  S.  McCALMONT, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
V.  BEST, 
Speaker  of  the  Senate. 
Approved  the  sixth  day  of  April,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  fifty.  WM.  F.  JOHNSTON. 


NEW  YORK  LEGISLATURE. 

Senate — Tuesday. — The  Governor  transmitted  the  following 
communication. 

State  of  New  York,  Executive  Department, 

Albany,  April  2, 1850. 
To  the  Legislature : 

We  learn  from  the  public  journals,  that  the  Hon.  John  C.  Cal- 
houn died  at  Washington,  on  the  morning  of  Sunday  last.  His 
death  is  an  event  of  interest,  and  a  source  of  grief  to  all  sections 
of  the  country,  in  whose  service  nearly  the  whole  of  his  active 
life  has  been  spent.  I  believe,  therefore,  that  I  consult  the  pub- 
lic sense  of  propriety,  not  less  than  my  own  feelings,  in  giving 


RESOLUTIONS,  LETTERS,  &c.  113 

you  this  official  information  of  his  decease. 

Mr.  Calhoun  became  connected  with  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment at  an  early  age,  and  died  in  its  service.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Secretary  of  State, 
Secretary  of  War,  Senator  in  Congress,  and  Yice  President  of  the 
United  States. 

In  each  of  these  stations  he  has  been  distinguished  for  abili- 
ty, integrity  and  independence.  He  has  taken  a  prominent  part 
in  every  great  question  which  has  agitated  the  country  during 
the  last  forty  years,  and  has  exerted  a  commanding  influence  up- 
on the  whole  course  of  our  public  policy. 

In  his  death  the  nation  has  lost  a  statesman  of  consummate 
ability,  and  of  unsullied  character.  It  is  fitting  that  this  State 
should  evince  sorrow  at  his  death,  by  such  action  as  her  Repre- 
sentatives may  deem  appropriate. 

HAMILTON  FISH. 

Mr.  Morgan  offered  the  following  resolution  : 

That  a  select  committee  of  .three  be  appointed  on  the  part  ot 
the  Senate,  to  meet  with  a  committee  on  the  part  of  the  Assem- 
bly, to  report  resolutions  expressive  of  the  sense  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, relative  to  the  death  of  the  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun,  and 
that  the  Senate  will  meet  at  4  o'clock  this  afternoon,  to  hear  the 
report  of  said  committee. 

The  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted. 

The  Select  Committee  on  the  part  of  the  Senate  on  the  Cal- 
houn resolutions,  are  Messrs.  Morgan,  Man  and  Babcock. 

Assembly. 

The  Governor  transmitted  to  the  House  a  Message  announ- 
cing the  death  of  Mr.  Calhoun. 

The  proceedings  of  the  Senate  on  this  subject  were  read,  des- 
ignating a  committee  on  the  part  of  the  Senate,  and  requesting 
a  like  committee  on  the  part  of  the  House. 

Mr.  Ford,  after  a  few  appropriate  remarks,  moved  a  concur- 
rence in  the  resolution  of  the  Senate. 

Mr.  Raymond  concurred  in  the  motion,  and  paid  a  brief  trib- 
ute to  the  memory  of  the  deceased,  as  a  citizen  and  statesman. 
8 


114  RESOLUTIONS,  LETTERS,  &c. 

Mr.  Bacon  followed,  conceding  to  Mr.  Calhoun  great  intel- 
lect and  virtue.  Messrs.  Monroe  and  Varnum  also  sustained 
the  motion. 

The  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted,  and  the  chair 
named  Messrs.  Ford,  Monroe,  Godard,  Raymond  and  Church,  as 
the  committee  on  the  part  of  the  House.     Recess  to  4. 

Evening  Session. 

Mr.  Morgan,  from  the  Joint  Select  committee  appointed  on 
the  Message  of  the  Governor,  announcing  the  death  of  the  Hon. 
John  C.  Calhoun,  offered  the  following  resolutions,  which  were 
unanimously  adopted. 

Resolved^  That  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York 
have  heard  with  deep  regret,  of  the  death  of  the  Hon.  John  C. 
Calhoun,  United  States  Senator  from  South  Carolina ;  that  they 
entertain  sentiments  of  profound  respect  for  the  pre-eminent 
ability,  the  unsullied  character  and  the  high-minded  indepen- 
dence, which,  throughout  his  life,  distinguished  his  devotion  to 
the  public  service ;  and  that  they  unite  with  their  fellow-citizens 
throughout  the  Union,  in  deploring  his  death  as  a  public 
calamity. 

Resolved,  That  the  Governor  of  this  State  be  requested  to 
transmit  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  President  of  the  Sen- 
ate of  the  United  States,  with  a  request  that  the  same  be  entered 
on  their  journal ;  and  a  copy  to  the  Governor  of  the  State  of 
South  Carolina,  with  a  request  that  he  transmit  the  same  to  the 
family  of  the  deceased. 

Resolved j  That  as  a  token  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the  de- 
ceased, the  public  offices  be  closed,  and  the  flag  at  the  Capitol  be 
displayed  at  half-mast  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  that  the  Sen- 
ate do  now  adjourn. 

The  same  resolutions  were  passed  by  the  Assembly,  which 
also  adjourned. 


RESOLUTIONS,  LETTERS,  &c.  115 

PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE  N.   Y.  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY, 

ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  DEATH  OF 

MR.  CALHOUN. 

At  a  stated  meeting  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  held 
at  its  rooms  in  the  New  York  University,  on  Tuesday  evening, 
the  2nd  day  of  April,  1850,  the  Hon.  Luther  Bradish,  Presi- 
dent, presiding. 

Dr.  Alexander  H.  Stephens  announced  the  death  of  the  Hon. 
John  C.  Calhoun,  in  the  following  words  : 

Mr.  President : — This  is  a  time  of  gloom.  Yesterday,  over 
our  public  edifices,  the  national  flag,  half  hoisted,  drooped  heavi- 
ly— its  stars  obscured.  A  public  calamity  was  indicated.  It 
was  the  death  of  Mr.  Calhoun.  His  home,  sir,  was  nearly  one 
thousand  miles  distant.  Who  will  so  far  forget  the  Roman  max- 
im, as  to  despair  of  the  Republic  when  there  is  such  sympathy 
between  its  remote  members  ?  It  is  an  evidence  of  unity,  and 
every  expression  of  it  is  a  new  bond  of  union. 

I  have  risen,  Mr.  President,  to  move  that  the  death  of  John 
Caldwell  Calhoun  be  entered  upon  your  journal,  with  the  ex- 
pression of  the  profound  veneration  entertained  by  this  Society 
for  his  high  character,  his  unsurpassed  abilities,  and  his  pre-emi- 
nent public  services.  The  name  of  Calhoun  is  historical ;  it  is 
mete  that  an  historical  society  should  mark  its  estimate  of  his 
character.  His  was  a  beacon  light  to  a  wide-spread  region  :  lofty, 
pure,  and  brilliant.  Long  the  guide  of  anxious  patriotism,  it  will 
be  seen  no  more  forever. 

Let  it  be  permitted  even  to  me,  sir,  to  mingle  private  grief  with 
universal  public  mourning.  While  yet  a  stripling  at  Yale,  I 
hung  upon  the  first  lispings  of  his  young  eloquence,  and  marked 
with  admiration,  the  intellectual  vigor  of  the  new  grown  Hercu- 
les. In  after  life,  College  recollections  were  a  cord  of  friendship 
between  us,  no  strand  of  which  was  ever  broken.  We  are  told 
by  his  friend,  Mr.  Holmes,  that  he  early  read  the  Bible.  Your 
venerable  predecessor,  the  illustrious  Gallatin,  was  also  early 
brought  up  in  the  study  of  that  sacred  volume,  and  lived  to  know 
its  value.    He  declared  to  me,  and  charged  me  to  say  to  Gen. 


116  RESOLUTIONS,  LETTERS,  &c. 

Taylor,  that  he  rejoiced  in  his  election,  that  he  occupied  a  posi- 
tiyn  on  which  all  patriots,  all  good  men,  all  christian  men,  could 
rally  around  and  support  him.  The  facts  I  state  go  to  show  the 
value  of  the  early  study  of  the  Bible  as  a  means  of  intellectual 
culture. 

Gallatin,  tracing  his  ancestry  some  centuries  back,  to  a  Syndic 
of  Geneva,  loved  to  speak  of  his  maternal  parentage  ;  so  too,  Cal- 
houn referred  with  pride  to  the  Caldwell  stock,  to  which  his  mo- 
ther belonged.  Who  does  not  remember  the  mother  of  the  Grac- 
chi, and  of  Napoleon  ?  Sir,  if  we  would  improve  our  race,  we 
should  develope  the  moral  and  intellectual  faculties  of  our  daugh- 
ters. 

The  affection  of  Mr.  Calhoun  for  his  family,  his  friends,  his 
State,  and  his  section,  was  so  warm  as  to  become,  perhaps,  too 
exclusive.  Distant  friends  so  thought,  and  blamed  him  ;  they 
did  not  know  the  temptations  to  which  he  yielded. 

In  heart,  Mr.  Calhoun  was  a  Raphael,  in  mind,  a  Michael  An- 
gelo.  As  an  orator  and  a  Cabinet  Minister,  his  most  marked  fea- 
tures were  his  power  of  condensation  and  of  organization.  In 
the  first,  he  had  no  equal ;  in  the  last,  since  the  days  of  Hamilton, 
our  country  has  not  seen  his  superior.  When  he  entered  the 
War  Department,  where  he  passed  the  most  useful  lustrum  of 
his  life,  order  came  out  of  chaos.  The  incidents  of  his  death 
suggest  a  comparison  with  Chatham.  They  were  alike  self-re- 
liant, fearless,  incorruptible.  But  Calhoun  sought  only  results, 
Chatham  sometimes  studied  display.  One  looked  only  to  the 
matter  in  hand,  the  other  also  to  himself.  In  manner  and  dic- 
tion, Calhoun  was  ever  severely  plain.  Chathom,  in  style,  was 
often  ornate — in  manner,  gorgeous.  Chatham's  inconsistency 
was  in  sentiment  and  action,  and  it  was  palpable.  Calhoun, 
ever  consistent  in  action,  was  only  over  refined  and  subtle  in  ar- 
gument. More  uniformly  than  Chatham,  he  prized  true  great- 
ness above  the  trappings  of  office  and  of  title.  In  other  points 
of  view,  Calhoun  was  like  only  unto  himself.  Had  he  been 
forced  to  act  more  and  think  less,  the  world  would  have  seen  in 
him  a  more  useful,  perhaps  an  unequalled,  man. 


RESOLUTIONS,  LETTERS,  &c  117 

As  a  medical  man,  I  am  so  presumptuous  as  to  suggest  this 
opinion  :  Mr.  Calhoun's  death  (I  speak  not  of  the  occasion,  but 
the  cause  of  it,)  was  an  intellectual  death.  An  overworked  mind 
dwelling  too  long  on  its  one  object — on  its  one  thought — his  coun- 
try. The  rapid  current,  ever  running  in  one  narrow  channel, 
deepened  its  bed,  until  the  banks  caved  in,  and  a  scene  of  deso- 
lation succeeded  to  the  fair  landscape.  What  a  lesson  to  intense 
thinkers !  But  other  landscapes  in  the  skies  shall  be  formed  by 
its  waters,  and  they  shall  descend  again  and  purify  the  air. — 
Even  so  may  his  fall  purify  the  political  atmosphere. 

I  offer  the  following  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  the  death  of  John  Caldwell  Calhoun  be 
entered  upon  the  journal  of  this  Society,  with  the  expression  of 
the  profound  veneration  entertained  by  it  for  his  high  character, 
his  unsurpassed  abilities,  and  his  pre-eminent  public  services. 

The  resolution,  seconded  by  J.  De  Peyster  Ogden,  Esq.  and 
responded  to  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  DeWitt,  was  passed  unanimously ; 
and 

The  Society  then  adjourned. 

Extract  from  the  minutes. 

ANDREW  WARNER,  Recording  Secretary. 


GOVERNOR  SEABROOK  TO  HON.  R.  BARNWELL  RHETT. 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ) 

Charleston,  April  11th,  1850.  $ 
Dear  Sir : — Your  intimate  relations  with  Mr.  Calhoun,  tho- 
rough knowledge  of  his  history,  and  ability  to  discharge  the  hon- 
orable trust,  have  induced  me  to  request  that  you  will,  before  the 
Legislature,  at  its  next  session,  on  a  day  convenient  to  yourself, 
deliver  an  oration  on  the  life,  character  and  public  services  of  the 
deceased. 

With  sentiments  of  respect, 

I  remain  your  obedient  servant, 

WHITEMARSH  B.  SEABROOK. 
JR.  Barnwell  Rhett,  Esq, 


118  RESOLUTIONS,  LETTERS,  &c. 

HON.  R.  B.  RHETT   TO  GOVERNOR  SEABROOK. 

The  Oaks,  April  18th,  1850. 
Dear  Sir  : — I  received  by  the  last  mail  the  request  of  your 
Excellency,  that  I  would  deliver,  before  the  Legislature  of  the 
State  at  its  next  sitting,  an  oration  on  the  life,  character  and  ser- 
vices of  Mr.  Calhoun.  After  the  able  and  eloquent  pens 
which  have  been  and  will  be  employed  on  this  distinguished 
theme,  I  may  not  be  able  to  produce  anything  novel  or  interest- 
ing, beyond  what  the  theme  itself  will  naturally  occasion.  But 
your  object  is  to  do  honor  on  the  part  of  the  State  to  the  illustri- 
ous dead.  Heartily  sympathizing  with  this  object,  I  will  co-ope- 
rate with  your  Excellency  to  the  extent  of  my  ability,  and  ac- 
cept the  appointment. 

Believe  me,  dear  sir, 

Your  most  humble, 

and  obedient  servant, 

R.  B.  RHETT. 
To  His  Excellency,  Governor  Seabrook. 


ORATION 


OP 


THE  HON.  E.  BAMWELL  RHETT, 

BEFORE  THE  LEGISLATURE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA, 


NOVEMBER    28,    1850 


Gentlemen  of  the  Senate,  and 

House  of  Representatives : 

The  Governor  of  the  State  has  appointed  me  to  deliver  before 
you,  "  an  Oration  on  the  life,  services,  and  character,"  of  the  late 
John  0.  Calhoun. 

Great  men,  in  all  ages,  have  been  considered  as  reflecting  dis- 
tinction on  the  States  of  their  nativity ;  and  therefore,  public  hon- 
ors have  been  rendered  to  their  remains  by  their  country  ;  and 
the  chisel  of  the  Sculptor,  the  pen  of  the  Poet,  and  the  voice  of  the 
Orator,  have  been  invoked  to  celebrate  and  perpetuate  their 
memories.  This  time-honored  custom,  practiced  by  every  peo- 
ple, should  especially  be  observed  by  Republics  towards  great 
public  men,  who,  whilst  living,  have  lived  for  their  country,  and 
dying,  have  left  behind  them  enduring  monuments  of  their  ge- 
nius and  patriotism.  Republics  rest  on  the  virtues  of  their  pub- 
lic men.  Other  forms  of  Government  may  live,  and  often  live 
more  surely,  without  love  of  country  ;  but  with  republics,  patri- 
otism is  life. 

To  cherish  this  great  virtue,  therefore,  is  not  only  the  impulse 
of  gratitude,  but  the  dictate  of  the  most  obvious  policy.  And 
to  the  dying  statesman,  (so  far  as  this  world  is  concerned,  and 
next  only  to  the  remembrance  of  him  by  those  whose  hearts  are 
one  with  him  in  the  domestic  circle,)  what  can  be  so  cheering,  so 


120  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

consoling,  as  the  conviction  that  he  shall  not  be  forgotton  by  his 
country ;  and  that,  unmindful  of  his  errors  and  weaknesses,  his 
countrymen,  gathering  together  as  we  now  do,  in  the  halls  of 
their  Legislature,  amidst  the  emblems  of  mourning  hung  around 
them,  with  all  the  dignitaries  of  the  State  to  participate  in  their 
sorrow,  shall  think  only  of  those  virtues  and  services  which,  bear- 
ing him  up  to  a  lofty  fame,  have  also  borne  with  him  his  native 
State,  and  united  her  name  with  his  own,  throughout  the  civil- 
ized world  !  For  the  sake  of  the  living  and  the  dead,  we  this 
day  pay  public  honors  to  the  late  John  C.  Calhoun. 

A  distinguished  statesman  and  philosopher  has  observed, 
that  the  characters  of  men  are  formed  before  they  are  seven 
years  old.  This  observation,  although  perhaps  a  little  exagge- 
rated, is  true  in  the  general  position  it  is  intended  to  affirm — 
that  all  the  great  elements  of  character  are  stamped  into  the  mind 
before  childhood,  or  boyhood,  has  ended.  Here  begins  the  moral 
inequality  of  men,  by  which  one  is  raised  to  honor,  and  another 
to  dishonor.  Men  seldom  change  in  their  moral  characteristics,, 
from  what  they  are  at  their  earlier  periods  of  existence.  Man- 
hood is  not  the  seed-time,  but  the  harvest,  of  our  principles.  We 
then  act  upon  them,  as  they  are  grown  within  us,  and  carry 
them  out  in  the  moral  warfare  of  life,  for  good  or  evil,  to  others 
and  ourselves. 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  ushered  into  life  by  that  first  and  greatest 
of  all  earthly  blessings,  a  good  parentage.  His  father  was  a 
brave,  intelligent  and  patriotic  man,  used  to  the  dangers  and  pri- 
vations of  a  frontier  life,  and  schooled  in  the  great  principles  of 
liberty,  by  the  hard  contest  of  our  Revolution.  His  mother  was 
of  a  family  whose  sufferings  attested  their  gallant  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  freedom.  Two  out  of  three  of  her  uncles  fell  in 
battle,  and  the  third  was  long  immured  in  the  dungeon  of  a 
prison-ship,  at  St.  Augustine.  From  such  parents,  a  son  might 
well  be  expected  to  arise  of  elevated  morality,  and  of  the  no- 
blest patriotism.  Born  in  the  midst  of  the  Revolution,  he  grew 
up  by  the  side  of  those  who  had  participated  in  its  arduous  and 
bloody  conflicts,  and  caught  from  their  lips  the  stern  lesson  they 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  121 

inculcated  with  their  swords  in  the  battle-field,  that  "  resistance 
to  tyranny  is  obedience  to  God."  The  public  opinion  of  our 
whole  community,  just  after  the  Revolution,  was  eminently  pa- 
triotic. Men  were  esteemed,  not  according  to  the  factitious  con- 
sequence which  wealth  or  fashion  can  impart,  but  according  to 
the  services  they  had  rendered  in  that  great  struggle  by  which 
we  acquired  our  liberties.  Amidst  such  influences,  such  a  mind 
as  Mr.  Calhoun's  must  have  moved  as  in  a  kindred  element, 
and  drank  in  the  inspirations  of  patriotism  which  filled  the  air 
with  its  voiceless  but  resistless  teachings.  Living  in  the  coun-  \ 
try,  retirement  deepened  all  his  impressions.  There  were  no  city 
pleasures  around  him,  to  beckon  him  away  from  virtue  ;  no  city 
vices,  to  sap  the  energies  and  cripple  the  noble  impulses  of  his 
nature.  Nor  did  affluence  lay  its  benumbing  hand  on  his  aspi- 
rations. Self-denial  and  labour,  not  ease  and  luxury,  were  his 
early  lot ;  and  the  habits  these  inspired,  led  him  on  to  a  life  of 
continual  industry,  and  of  glorious  usefulness  and  success.  Un- 
der such  influences,  Mr.  Calhoun's  early  life  was  passed.  Youth 
had  nearly  flown,  and  he  was  engaged  in  the  simple  pursuit  of 
planting,  when  his  brother  urged  him,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  to 
enter  upon  one  of  the  liberal  professions.  But  content  with  the 
peaceful  and  unambitious  employment  of  agriculture,  he  de- 
clined the  proposal,  placing  against  it,  what  he  deemed,  imprac- 
ticable conditions.  He  required  that  his  mother,  with  whom  he 
lived,  should  give  a  free  consent  to  his  leaving  her ;  and  that  his 
brother  should  engage  to  provide  him  with  the  means,  for  seven 
years,  to  educate  and  prepare  him  for  a  profession.  Fortunately 
for  his  country,  these  kind  and  generous  relations  appreciated 
him  far  higher  than  he  appears  to  have  estimated  himself.  His 
mother,  with  that  disinterested  love  which  mothers  only  can 
feel,  freely  bade  him  go  from  her  side,  to  tread  the  paths  of  im- 
provement and  usefulness,  and  his  brother  pledged  the  means 
he  required.  His  classical  and  collegiate  course  justified  their 
fondest  anticipations.  Whilst  instructors  predicted  his  future 
greatness,  all  his  associates  at  school  and  college  remember 
their  fellow-student  with  admiration  and  affection,  and  tell  with 


U: 


122  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

pride  and  pleasure,  of  their  early  connexion  with  him.  His 
preparation  for  the  Bar  was  so  thorough  and  ample,  that,  with 
his  commanding  abilities,  on  entering  it,  he  stepped  at  once  to 
the  head  of  his  profession.  Such  a  man  could  not  long  remain 
in  private  life.  He  was  soon  elected  to  our  State  Legislature,  at 
the  head  of  the  ticket.  From  the  State  Legislature,  where  he 
distinguished  himself  by  his  thorough  knowledge  and  anticipa- 
tion of  public  affairs,  he  was  sent,  in  1810,  to  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States. 

Gentlemen,  to  delineate  Mr.  Calhoun's  life,  we  must  portray 
his  conduct  and  services.  ¥  Our  lives  are  two-fold,"  made  up  of 
internal  and  external  actions.  Our  internal  life,  which  is  our 
real  life,  consists  of  thoughts,  intentions  and  emotions.  This, 
no  eye  can  see,  no  hand  can  write,  but  the  eye  and  hand  of  Om- 
nipotence ;  and  it  will  only  be  read  at  the  great  day  of  account. 
Our  external  life  consists  of  our  conduct  and  services  to  other 
men,  and  to  our  country.  These  we  can  investigate,  and  from 
them,  we  may  infer  the  hidden  life,  out  of  which  flows  all  of  our 
visible  actions. 

Mr.  Calhoun's  public  life  and  services  cover  an  immense 
tract  of  intellectual  achievements.  To  follow  him  at  every 
step  of  his  triumphant  progress,  may  well  become  the  biogra- 
pher, but  is  not  compatible  with  the  brief  task  assigned  to  me. 
I  shall  not,  therefore,  attempt  what  it  would  be  impossible  to 
perform,  consistently  with  your  patience  or  the  time  allotted  me, 
but  shall  content  myself  with  the  humble  endeavour  to  exhibit 
him  before  you  as  a  statesman,  upon  three  subjects  only — the 
war  of  1812,  the  tariff,  and  slavery.  Upon  his  policy  and 
speeches  with  respect  to  these  great  subjects,  I  know  he  chiefly 
rested  his  title  to  future  fame. 

The  war  of  1812  was  a  great  war.  It  was  great,  not  on  ac- 
count of  the  hosts  engaged  in  battle,  or  the  millions  who  were 
slaughtered  in  its  progress,  but  on  account  of  the  principles  it 
vindicated,  and  the  manner  in  which  those  principles  were  vin- 
dicated. Viewed  merely  as  a  contest  against  unjust  power,  it  is 
by  no  means  an  ordinary  event  in  the  history  of  nations.    Great 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  123 

Britain  aimed  at  nothing  short  of  recolonizing  the  United  States. 
All  she  ever  desired  in  founding  us  as  colonies — and  all  she  ever 
sought  to  accomplish,  before  her  pretensions  of  taxing  us,  was 
the  control  of  our  commerce.  This  she  endeavoured  to  do 
through  her  orders  in  council,  and  the  lawless  depredations  they 
authorized.  Practically,  she  asserted,  and  attempted  to  enforce 
the  pretension,  that  the  United  States  should  carry  on  no  com- 
merce with  Europe,  except  by  her  permission,  and  from  her 
ports.  In  this  point  of  view,  the  war  of  1812  was  a  war  for 
national  independence.  But  it  was  far  greater  in  the  principles 
which  it  involved.  The  rights  of  neutrals,  between  belligerent 
nations,  have  been  for  ages  a  matter  of  contention.  The  object 
of  this  war  was  to  vindicate  these  rights,  against  the  pretended 
right  of  search,  and  that  of  paper  blockades  falsely  set  up  by 
Great  Britain.  It  did  not  settle,  by  distinct  acknowledgment, 
the  rights  of  neutrals  on  these  points,  but  it  practically  estab- 
lished them  by  tacit  consent.  The  United  States  are  now  too 
powerful  on  the  ocean,  for  any  nation  to  make  an  enemy  of  her 
by  attempting  to  enforce  against  her  as  a  neutral,  the  old  preten- 
sions of  Great  Britain.  A  change  of  positions  is  gradually  ta- 
king place  ;  and  at  no  distant  day,  Great  Britain,  no  longer  the 
first  power  on  the  ocean,  will  need  the  protecting  shield  of  these 
principles,  against  the  greater  strength  of  other  nations.  With 
the  United  States  of  America  in  the  ascendant,  all  the  great  mar- 
itime States  of  the  world  will  thus  be  in  their  favor,  and  will 
look  back  to  the  war  of  1812,  as  the  great  source  of  their  triumph 
and  vindication. 

In  such  a  contest — a  contest  for  national  independence  and 
the  liberty  of  the  seas — Mr.  Calhoun  was  found  amongst  the 
first  to  counsel  against  submission.  In  the  Congress  of  1810, 
and  that  of  1811,  he  raised  his  voice  for  open  and  uncompromi- 
sing resistance.  His  proud  and  free  spirit  disdained  the  non-in- 
tercourse policy,  which  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Madison  had  put 
in  force  throughout  the  United  States.  This  policy  was  the  re- 
sult of  fear  of  the  power  of  Britain.  She  had  determined  to 
plunder  us ;  and  we,  to  escape  her  plundering,  denied  ourselves 


124  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

all  the  benefits  of  the  free  commerce  to  which  we  were  entitled 
by  the  laws  of  nations,  and  self-infliction,  not  resistance,  was  the 
policy  of  these  distinguished  statesmen.  Fear  is,  indeed,  the 
worst  of  all  counsellors  ;  and  when,  instead  of  enforcing  right, 
it  adds  to  our  wrongs  and  sufferings,  it  is  as  injurious  as  it  is  con- 
temptible. The  consequence  in  this  case  was,  that  the  patriot- 
ism of  the  country  seemed  to  be  guaged  by  our  gains  ;  an  inter- 
nal dissatisfaction  spread  throughout  all  those  parts  of  the  Union 
most  immediately  affected  by  this  timid  policy.  Contrasting  it 
with  war,  Mr.  Calhoun  denounced  it,  in  one  of  the  first  speeches 
he  delivered  in  Congress,  in  a  strain  of  philosophic  invective  sel- 
dom equalled  in  the  annals  of  oratory. 

"  This  system,"  he  argued,  "  renders  Government  odious.  The 
farmer  enquires  why  he  gets  no  more  for  his  produce,  and  he  is 
told,  it  is  owing  to  the  embargo  or  commercial  restrictions.  In 
this  he  sees  only  the  hand  of  his  own  government,  and  not  the 
acts  of  violence  and  injustice  which  this  system  is  intended  to 
counteract.  His  censures  fall  on  the  Government.  This  is  an 
unhappy  state  of  the  public  mind  ;  and  even,  I  might  say,  in  a 
government  resting  essentially  on  public  opinion,  a  dangerous 
one.  In  war,  it  is  different.  Its  privations,  it  is  true,  may  be 
equal  or  greater ;  but  the  public  mind,  under  the  strong  impulses 
of  that  state  of  things,  becomes  steeled  against  sufferings.  The 
difference  is  almost  infinite  between  the  passive  and  active  state 
of  the  mind.  Tie  down  a  hero,  and  he  feels  the  puncture  of  a 
pin ;  throw  him  into  battle,  and  he  is  almost  insensible  to  vital 
gashes.  So  in  war.  Impelled  alternately  by  hope  and  fear,  sti- 
mulated by  revenge,  depressed  by  shame,  or  elevated  by  victory, 
the  people  become  invincible.  No  privation  can  shake  their  for- 
titude ;  no  calamity  break  their  spirit.  Even  when  equally  suc- 
cessful, the  contrast  between  the  two  systems  is  striking.  War 
and  restriction  may  leave  the  country  equally  exhausted  ;  but 
the  latter  not  only  leaves  you  poor,  but,  even  when  successful, 
dispirited,  divided,  discontented,  with  diminished  patriotism,  and 
the  morals  of  a  considerable  portion  of  your  people  corrupted. — 
Not  so  in  war.  In  that  state,  the  common  danger  unites  all, 
strengthens  the  bonds  of  society,  and  feeds  the  flames  of  patri- 
otism. The  national  character  mounts  to  energy.  In  exchange 
for  the  expenses  and  privations  of  war,  you  obtain  military  and 
naval  skill,  and  a  more  perfect  organization  of  such  parts  of  your 
administration  as  are  connected  with  the  science  of  national  de- 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  125 


fence.  Sir,  are  these  advantages  to  be  counted  as  trifles  in  the 
present  state  of  the  world  ?  Can  they  be  measured  by  monied 
valuation  ?  I  would  prefer  a  single  victory  over  the  enemy,  by 
sea  or  by  land,  to  all  the  good  we  shall  ever  derive  from  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  non-importation  Act.  I  know  not  that  a  victory 
would  produce  an  equal  pressure  on  the  enemy ;  but  I  am  cer- 
tain of  what  is  of  greater  consequence,  it  would  be  accompanied 
by  more  salutary  effects  on  ourselves.  The  memory  of  Saratoga, 
Princeton,  and  Eutaw,  is  immortal.  It  is  there  you  will  find  the 
country's  boast  and  pride — the  inexhaustible  source  of  great  and 
heroic  sentiments.  But  what  will  history  say  of  restriction  ? — 
What  examples  worthy  of  imitation  will  it  furnish  to  posterity  1 
What  pride,  what  pleasure,  will  our  children  find  in  the  events 
of  such  times  ?  Let  me  not  be  considered  romantic.  This  na- 
tion ought  to  be  taught  to  rely  on  its  courage,  its  fortitude,  its 
skill  and  virtue,  for  protection.  These  are  the  only  safe-guards  in 
the  hour  of  danger.  Man  was  endued  with  these  great  qualities 
for  his  defence.  There  is  nothing  about  him  that  indicates  that 
he  is  to  conquer  by  endurance.  He  is  not  encrusted  in  a  shell ; 
he  is  not  taught  to  rely  upon  his  insensibility,  his  passive  suffer- 
ing, for  a  defence.  No,  sir,  it  is  on  the  invincible  mind,  on  a 
magnanimous  nature,  he  ought  to  rely.  Here  is  the  superiority 
of  our  kind.  It  is  these  that  render  man  the  lord  of  the  world. 
It  is  the  destiny  of  his  condition,  that  nations  rise  above  nations, 
as  they  are  endued  in  a  greater  degree  with  these  brilliant  qual- 
ities." 

He  brought  forward  propositions  at  this  session  of  Congress  to 
prepare  foi  war  ;  and  at  the  next  session  reported,  as  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  the  declaration  of  war,  writ- 
ten by  Mr.  Monroe,  the  Secretary  of  State.  After  the  downfall 
of  Napoleon,  in  1813,  Great  Britain,  disembarrassed  of  the  con- 
tests in  Europe,  was  left,  with  her  veteran  troops,  to  carry  on  the 
war  with  the  United  States.  The  opposition  in  Congress  and 
out  of  Congress  sought  to  paralyze  the  efforts  made  to  carry  on 
the  war  successfully.  They  were  fully  and  powerfully  repre- 
sented in  Congress.  Alluding  to  the  reverses  of  our  arms  on  our 
frontiers,  Mr.  Webster  sarcastically  exclaimed :  "  This  was  not 
the  entertainment  to  which  we  were  invited  ! !"  And  throughout 
the  New  England  States,  the  decided  front  of  opposition  to  its 
continuance  was  raised.    In  this  state  of  things,  it  was  strongly 


126  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

urged  in  Congress,  that  our  condition  was  desperate ;  and  that, 
at  any  cost,  the  war  should  be  closed.  The  opposition  was  de- 
veloped on  the  Loan  Bill,  now  brought  forward  to  carry  on  the 
war.  Mr.  Calhoun  advocated  a  stern  prosecution  of  the  war, 
and  delivered  that  speech  which  was  read  at  the  head  of  our  ar- 
mies. It  is  impossible,  even  at  this  day,  to  read  the  conclusion 
without  catchihg  the  fire  of  its  lofty  eloquence. 

"  This  country  is  left  alone  to  support  the  rights  of  neutrals. — 
Perilous  is  the  condition,  and  arduous  the  task.     We  are  not  in- 
timidated.    We  stand  opposed  to  British  usurpation,  and,  by  our 
spirit  and  efforts,  have  done  all  in  our  power  to  save  the  last  ves- 
tiges of  neutral  rights.     Yes,   our  embargoes,   non-intercourse, 
non-importation,  and  finally,  war,  are  all  exertions  to  preserve 
the  rights  of  this   and  other  nations  from  the  deadly  grasp  of 
British  maritime  policy.     But,  (say  our  opponents,)  these  efforts 
are  lost,  and  our  condition  hopeless.     If  so,  it  only  remains  for  us 
to  assume  the  garb  of  our  condition.     We  must  submit,  humbly 
submit,  beg  pardon,  and  hug  our  chains.     It  is  not  wise  to  pro- 
voke, where  we  cannot  resist.     But  first,  let  us  be  well  assured  of 
the  hopelessness  of  our  state  before  we  sink  into  submission. — 
On  what  do  our  opponents  rest  their  despondent  and  slavish  be- 
lief?    On  the  recent  events  in  Europe  ?     I  admit  they  are  great, 
and  well  calculated  to  impose  on  the  imagination.     Our  enemy 
never  presented  a  more  imposing  exterior.     His  fortune  is  at  the 
flood.     But  I  am  admonished  by  universal  experience  that  such 
prosperity  is  the  most  precarious  of  human  conditions.     From 
the  flood,  the  tide  dates  its  ebb.     From  the  meridian,  the  sun 
commences  his  decline.     Depend  upon  it,  there  is  more  of  sound 
philosophy  than  of  fiction  in  the  fickleness  which  poets  attribute 
to  fortune.     Prosperity  has  its  weakness,  adversity  its  strength. 
In  many  respects  our  enemy  has  lost  by  those  very  changes 
which  seem  so  very  much  in  his  favor.     He  can  no  more  claim 
to  be  struggling  for  existence  ;  no  more  to  be  fighting  the  battles 
of  the  world  in  defence  of  the  liberties  of  mankind.     The  magic 
cry  of  "  French  influence,"  is  lost.     In  this  very  hall  we  are  not 
strangers  to  that  sound.     Here,  even  here,  the  cry  of  "  French 
influence,"  that  baseless  fiction,  that  phantom  of  faction,  now  ban- 
ished, often  resounded.  I  rejoice  that  the  spell  is  broken  by  which 
it  was  attempted  to  bind  the  spirit  of  this  youthful  nation.     The 
minority  can  no  longer  act  under  cover,  but  must  come  out  and 
defend  their  opposition  on  its  own  intrinsic  merits.     Our  exam- 
ple can  scarcely  fail  to  produce  its  effects  on  other  nations  inter- 
ested in  the  maintenance  of  maritime  rights.    But  if,  unfortu- 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  127 

nately,  we  should  be  left  alone  to  maintain  the  contest,  and  if, 
which  may  God  forbid,  necessity  should  compel  us  to  yield  for 
the  present,  yet  our  generous  efforts  will  not  have  been  lost.  A 
mode  of  thinking  and  a  tone  of  sentiment  have  gone  abroad 
which  must  stimulate  to  future  and  more  successful  struggles. — ■ 
What  could  not  be  effected  with  eight  millions  of  people,  will  be 
done  with  twenty.  The  great  cause  will  never  be  yielded — no, 
never,  never.  Sir,  I  hear  the  future  audibly  announced  in  the 
past,  in  the  splendid  victories  over  the  Guerriere,  Java,  and  Ma- 
cedonian. We  and  all  nations,  by  these  victories,  are  taught  a 
lesson  never  to  be  forgotten.  Opinion  is  power.  The  charm  of 
British  naval  invincibility  is  gone." 

This  war  was  called  the  Carolina  war.     More  eminent  states- 
men from    South  Carolina  than  from  any  other  State  of  the 
Union,  enforced  and  sustained  it  by  their  counsels ;  and  it  was 
closed  victoriously  at  New  Orleans,  by  the  military  prowess  of 
a  South  Carolinian.     But  were  it  not  that  Lowndes  and  Cheves 
and  Williams  were  his  colleagues,  it  might  well  be  called  a  Cal-  I  ) 
houn  war.     It  was  a  type  of  all  the  political  contests  in  which  I  / 
he  was  afterwards  engaged — ever  struggling  for  right  and  liberty,  j  1 
against  oppression  and  power.  I 

This  war  placed  Mr.  Calhoun  amongst  the  foremost  spirits 
of  his  time.  On  the  elevation  of  Mr.  Monroe  to  the  Presidency, 
he  was  called  into  his  cabinet,  as  Secretary  of  War.  This  de- 
partment was  involved  in  the  utmost  confusion.  But  soon  order 
and  responsibility  arose  throughout  all  its  arrangements  and  de- 
tails. His  genius  yet  presides  over  this  department  in  its  admi- 
rable organization,  which  no  one  who  has  succeeded  him  has 
attempted  to  alter  or  improve.  His  great  abilities  were  stamped 
on  all  the  documents  he  produced  at  the  call  of  Congress,  or  of 
the  Executive ;  and  at  the  close  of  Mr.  Monroe's  administration, 
he  stood  prominently  forward  for  the  Presidency.  Pennsylvania 
nominated  him  for  this  distinguished  office  ;  and  had  South 
Carolina  supported  the  nomination,  the  probability  is  he  would, 
at  that  early  day,  have  reached  the  Presidential  chair.  But  she 
in  preference  nominated  William  Lowndes,  another  of  her  dis- 
tinguished sons. 

William  Lowndes  was  one  of  the  greatest,  yet  one  of  the 


128  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

blandest  and  most  amiable  of  men.  No  one  could  approach 
him  without  emotions  of  affection  and  admiration.  In  confer- 
ring with  him,  you  felt  as  if  communing  with  a  bright  and  se- 
rene spirit,  fresh  from  the  crystal  fountains  of  truth,  without  a 
spot  on  its  snowy  vestments.  You  were  not  so  much  dazzled 
by  the  splendour,  as  attracted  by  the  mild  light  of  his  clear  and 
beautiful  intelligence,  like  the  light  of  bright  but  distant  stars. 
He  did  not,  perhaps  he  could  not,  crush,  by  the  overwhelming 
weight  of  his  logic,  the  mind  of  his  hearer — but  softly  subduing 
it  to  his  purposes,  he  won  it  away  from  itself,  and  made  it  wil- 
ling to  be  won.  His  native  delicacy  taught  him  that  most  dif- 
ficult of  all  achievments  to  a  very  superior  mind,  not  to  offend 
by  his  superiority.  You  came  to  him  with  ease  and  confidence, 
you  left  him  full  of  thought  and  gladness.  Instead  of  hum- 
bling in  his  intercourse,  he  lifted  up  the  feebler  minds  of  others, 
and  made  them  willing  to  bow  to  the  gentle  majesty  of  so  much 
goodness  and  so  much  power.  Mr.  Lowndes  had  no  enemies. 
To  wound  the  feelings  of  another,  even  to  protect  his  own,  was 
beyond  the  gentleness  of  his  noble  nature.  He  had,  of  course, 
friends,  warm  friends,  whose  admiration  of  him  as  a  man  and 
as  a  statesman,  was  equalled  only  by  their  love.  Between  such 
a  man  and  Mr.  Calhoun,  there  was  an  instinctive  assimilation. 
They  appreciated  and  loved  each  other.  When,  therefore,  they 
were  both  nominated  for  the  Presidency,  and  thus  placed  in  the 
attitude  of  rivals,  Mr.  Calhoun  hastened  to  Mr.  Lowndes.  He 
assured  him  that  he  had  had  no  agency  in  his  own  nomination 
by  Pennsylvania  ;  and  expressed  the  hope,  that  the  acts  of  their 
friends  would  not  at  all  affect  the  personal  relations  of  friendship 
and  esteem  between  themselees.  Mr.  Lowndes  warmly  recipro- 
cated the  desire  af  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  to  his  death  the  feelings 
of  confidence  and  friendship  between  these  two  great  men  re- 
mained unimpaired — a  striking  instance  of  the  nobleness  of  their 
generous  natures. 

Mr.  Lowndes  died  before  the  Presidential  canvass  came  to  a 
close  ;  and  General  Jackson,  in  the  meantime,  being  taken  up  by 
Pennsylvania,  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  Mr.  Calhoun 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  129i 

was  supported  on  all  the  Presidential  tickets,  for  the  Vice  Presi- 
dency, t^e  was  elected,  of  course,  to  this  distinguished  office ; 
but  Gen.  Jackson,  although  highest  by  the  vote  of  the  electoral 
colleges,  did  not  obtain  the  constitutional  majority  required  for 
electing  him  to  the  Presidency.  The  election  was  thrown  into 
the  House  of  Representatives,  and  by  a  combination  between 
Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Clay,  Mr.  Adams  was  made  President  of 
the  United  States. 

This  administration  was  not  long  in  developing  its  Federal 
tendencies,  and  Mr.  Calhoun  joined  the  opposition  for  its  over- 
throw. 

The  weak,  as  well  as  the  vital,  point  of  liberty  in  all  free  go- 
vernments, is  in  the  laying  and  expending  of  the  taxes  ;  and  to 
this  point,  consolidation  most  naturally  drifts  in  consummating 
its  policy.  If  the  government  could  but  be  made  omnipotent  in 
regard  to  taxation  and  expenditure,  its  omnipotence  in  all  other 
matters  would  soon  follow.  Our  Anglo-Saxon  ancestors,  by  the 
habeas  corpus  Act,  and  the  trial  by  jury,  had  long  since  thrown 
indestructible  barriers  around  the  liberty  of  the  person,  against 
the  encroachments  of  tyranny  ;  but  liberty,  as  to  property,  in  the 
imposition  of  the  taxes,  is  still  a  matter  of  strife  and  contention. 
It  was  fought  for  in  the  Revolution  in  England  in  the  middle  of 
the  seventeenth  century.  It  was  fought  for  by  our  ancestors,  in 
our  own  Revolution  of  1776.  We  won  it  in  that  fierce  contest, 
but  lost  it  almost  as  soon  as  it  was  won,  by  the  operations  of  the 
General  Government.  The  concession  made  by  the  Constitution 
to  the  General  Government,  of  the  power  of  laying  duties  on  im- 
ports, was  fatal  to  all  equality  and  justice  in  taxation.  For,  even 
though  the  duties  should  be  laid  with  a  single  eye  to  revenue, 
they  would  be  levied  upon  the  commerce  created  by  the  exports, 
and  must  be  unequal  in  their  operation  upon  those  to  whom  the 
exports  belong.  But  when,  in  the  working  of  this  method  of 
raising  revenue  for  the  support  of  the  General  Government,  mil- 
lions of  people  and  sections  of  the  Union  become  interested  to 
obtain  advantages  by  its  perversion  or  excess,  it  is  vain  to  look 
for  justice  or  equality.  The  taxes,  so  far  from  being  burdens,  as 
9 


130  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

all  taxes  should  be,  are.  on  the  contrary,  sources  of  gain  and  pros- 
perity. The  higher  the  taxes  levied  on  foreign  commodities,  the 
greater  are  their  gains,  either  from  the  higher  prices  which  they 
obtain  for  articles  they  manufacture  similar  to  those  taxed  on  im- 
portation, or  from  the  total  exclusion  of  the  foreign  commodity. 
Under  such  a  policy,  injustice  and  oppression  reign  in  the  exer- 
cise of  the  taxing  power  ;  and  the  Government  becomes  only  an 
instrument  for  wresting  property  from  one  citizen  to  bestow  it  on 
another.  Under  such  a  policy,  corruption  likewise  reigns  in  the 
exjiending  power — for  the  more  the  public  treasury  can  be  ex- 
hausted and  wasted,  the  higher  must  be  the  taxes  to  fill  its  cof- 
fers. Hence  arises  a  tyranny  as  remorseless  as  it  is  sateless.  It 
was  this  policy,  under  the  name  of  the  American  system,  which 
Mr.  Adams's  administration  sought  to  consummate  in  the  tariff 
bill  of  1828.  Fortunately  for  liberty,  tyranny  seldom  has  bounds 
in  its  aggressions.  It  will  not  be  satisfied  with  light  oppressions  ; 
but  goes  on  to  crush  its  victims,  or  drive  them  to  resistance. 
The  tariffs  of  1818,  of  '22,  of  '24  and  '28— shewed  the  successive 
steps  of  its  unalterable  progress.  It  was  impossible  for  such  a 
mind  as  Mr.  Calhoun's,  after  the  opportunity  his  election  to  the 
vice-presidency,  from  the  leisure  it  afforded,  presented  for  mature 
consideration,  not  to  comprehend  the  whole  operation  of  this  po- 
licy, and  to  hate  and  resist  it.  When  it  was  supposed  that  the 
votes  would  be  equal  in  the  Senate,  on  this  Bill,  and  thus  that, 
as  Vice  President,  his  vote  would  be  wanted  to  determine  its 
fate,  he  declared  his  determination  to  vote  against  it,  and  to  for- 
feit his  position  as  Vice-President,  on  the  electoral  ticket  of  the 
Democratic  party — then  certain  of  success — rather  than  support 
this  "  Bill  of  abominations."  But  the  Bill  passed  without  his 
vote.  It  was  received  in  South  Carolina  with  the  most  decided 
marks  of  popular  indignation.  Resistance  was  openly  pro- 
claimed against  it  at  many  meetings  held  by  the  people,  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  State.  In  Colleton  District,  where  the  first 
movements  were  made,  the  Governor  of  the  State  was  requested 
immediately  to  convene  the  Legislature  together,  in  order  that 
the  State  should  determine  on  the  mode  and  measure  of  redress. 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  131 

In  this  emergency,  the  eyes  of  many  were  turned  towards  Mr. 
Calhoun  for  counsel  and  direction  ;  and  two  of  the  most  distin- 
guished statesmen  from  the  lower  country  visited  him  during 
the  summer  at  his  residence,  Fort  Hill.  Mr.  Calhoun  was  in 
favour  of  resistance,  but  of  resistance  within  the  pale  of  the  Con- 
stitution, by  the  peaceable  remedy  of  nullification,  whose  aim 
was  to  check  effectually  these  encroachments  upon  our  rights, 
but  at  the  same  time  to  preserve  the  Union.  At  the  succeeding 
sitting  of  the  Legislature,  those  in  favour  of  calling  a  Convention 
of  the  people  by  the  Legislature,  were  defeated  ;  but  an  able  ex- 
position, the  work  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  was  put  forth  by  the  State, 
demonstrating  the  grievances  of  the  tariff,  and  defending  the 
right  of  state-interposition,  for  their  redress.  A  protest  was  also 
adopted  by  the  legislature,  and  sent  on  to  Washington,  to  be  re- 
corded on  the  journals  of  Congress.  It  was  prepared  by  one  of 
Carolina's  most  gifted  sons. 

Hugh  S.  Legare  was  a  man  of  too  much  heart  for  politics. 
His  French  temperament,  quick  to  resent,  yet  easy  to  forgive ; 
warm,  guileless,  and  confiding,  rendered  him  too  unhappy  and 
too  disappointed,  when  tossed  on  the  boisterous  and  adverse 
waves  of  public  life.  He  had  none  of  that  cold  patience,  or  buoy- 
ant hope,  which  often  makes  disaster  the  occasion  of  after  rejoi- 
cing ;  or  defeat  the  means  of  awakening  new  and  higher  ener- 
gies. Yet  he  had  a  genius  capable  of  mastering  every  science — 
an  industry  which  travelled  with  untiring  steps  over  the  whole 
domain  of  literature  ;  and  a  spirit  of  blazing  intensity,  which  drew 
to  itself  and  consumed  all  that  was  great  or  truthful  or  beautiful 
in  the  thoughts  of  other  men.  How  often  did  his  oratory  resound 
in  this  hall ;  filling  us  with  admiration  at  its  pure  and  deep  ca- 
dences !  Vigorous  thought,  clothed  in  the  drapery  of  the  warm- 
est and  most  nervous  language,  and  borne  on  the  wings  of  a  lof- 
ty and  impetuous  spirit,  characterized  his  striking  powers  in  de- 
bate. Alas  !  the  eagle  fell  as  he  reached  the  mountain  top  !  He 
died  on  the  very  summit,  where  his  glorious  scholarship,  mighty 
attainments,  and  brilliant  genius,  would  have  made  him  a  name 
amongst  the  great  statesmen  of  the  world.     Although  he  deemed 


132  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

himself  slighted  and  wronged  by  his  native  State,  he  turned  to 
her,  to  the  last,  with  a  full  and  yearning  heart. 

a  Heu  !  quanto  minus  est  cum  reliquis  versare, 
Quam  tui  memminisse." 

The  protest  of  South  Carolina  against  the  Tariff  Act  of  1828, 
was  recorded  on  the  Journals  of  Congress  ;  and  the  Presidential 
election  coming  on,  Gen.  Jackson  was  elected  to  the  Presidency. 
His  native  State  had  been  the  first  to  nominate  him  for  this  dis- 
tinguished office,  after  his  defeat  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
The  strong  hope  entertained  of  redress  through  his  administra- 
tion, was  a  leading  cause  of  the  defeat  of  those  in  the  Legislature 
of  South  Carolina,  who  advocated  the  call  of  a  Convention.  But 
his  first  message  to  Congress  dispelled  all  such  hopes.  Instead 
of  recommending  a  reduction  of  the  tariff  to  the  wants  of  the 
Treasury,  in  view  of  the  payment  of  the  public  debt,  he  proposed 
that  the  tariff  should  be  kept  up,  and  that  the  surplus  in  the  Trea- 
sury, which  must  accumulate,  should  be  distributed  among  the 
States.  If  this  policy,  the  policy  of  the  manufacturers,  should  pre- 
vail, it  was  plain  that  the  tariff  would  remain,  with  all  its  oppres- 
sions, unchanged  forever — whilst  the  independence  of  the  States 
would  be  swallowed  up  in  the  vortex  of  consolidation.  At  the 
next  session  of  Congress,  Gen.  Jackson,  as  if  to  chide  the  tardy 
movements  of  our  oppressors,  repeated  his  recommendation  of  this 
policy  for  the  adoption  of  Congress.  Thus  presenting  to  the  peo- 
ple of  South  Carolina,  either  a  permanent  system  of  distributing 
the  surplus  revenue,  and  a  perpetual  protective  tariff,  or  resistance. 
South  Carolina  determined  to  meet  this  alternative  and  to  resist. 
Although  equally  assailed  by  the  two  great  parties  of  the  country, 
and  abandoned  by  her  sister  States  in  the  South,  under  the  gui- 
dance of  her  great  statesman  she  moved  on  to  the  vindication  of 
her  rights  and  liberties.  To  prepare  her  for  the  contest,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  defend  the  principles  on  which  he  desired  she 
would  ground  her  resistance,  Mr.  Calhoun  put  forth  an  ad- 
dress, characterized  by  his  usual  great  ability.  The  scheme  of 
the  Constitution,  by  which  the  people  of  a  country  so  various  in 
its  productions,  and  so  different  in  climate  and  institutions,  may 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  133 

live  under  one  Government,  consistently  with  liberty,  he  exposes 
as  follows: 

"  So  momentous  and  diversified  are  the  interests  of  our  country, 
that  they  could  not  be  fairly  represented  in  a  single  government 
organized  so  as  to  give  to  each  great  and  leading  interest  a  sepa- 
rate and  distinct  voice,  as  in  governments  to  which  I  have  referred. 
A  plan  was  adopted  better  suited  to  our  situation,  but  perfectly 
novel  in  its  character.  The  powers  of  government  were  divided  ; 
not  as  heretofore,  in  reference  to  classes,  but  geographically. 
One  general  Government  was  formed  for  the  whole,  to  which  was 
delegated  all  the  powers  supposed  to  be  necessary  to  regulate  the 
interests  common  to  all  the  States,  leaving  others  subject  to  the 
separate  control  of  the  States,  being,  from  their  local  and  peculiar 
character,  such  that  they  could  not  be  subject  to  the  will  of  a  ma- 
jority of  the  whole  Union,  without  the  certain  hazard  of  injustice 
and  oppression.  It  was  thus  that  the  interests  of  the  whole  were 
subjected,  as  they  ought  to  be,  to  the  will  of  the  whole ;  while  the 
peculiar,  local  interests  were  left  under  the  control  of  the  States 
separately,  to  whose  custody  only  they  could  be  safely  confided. 
This  distribution  of  power,  settled  solemnly  by  a  constitutional 
compact,  to  which  all  the  States  are  parties,  constitutes  the  pecul- 
iar character  and  excellence  of  our  political  system.  It  is  truly 
and  emphatically  American,  without  example  or  parallel. 

"  To  realize  its  perfection,  we  must  view  the  General  Govern- 
ment and  those  of  the  States  as  a  whole,  each  in  its  proper  sphere 
independent;  each  perfectly  adapted  to  its  respective  objects;  the 
States  acting  separately,  representing  and  protecting  the  local 
and  peculiar  interests ;  acting  jointly,  through  one  General  Gov- 
ernment, with  the  weight  respectively  assigned  to  each  by  the 
Constitution,  representing  and  protecting  the  interest  of  the  whole, 
and  thus  perfecting,  by  an  admirable  but  simple  arrangement,  the 
great  principle  of  representation  and  responsibility,  without  which 
no  government  can  be  free  or  just.  To  preserve  this  sacred  dis- 
tribution, as  originally  settled,  by  coercing  each  to  move  in  its 
prescribed  orb,  is  the  great  and  difficult  problem,  on  the  solution 
of  which  the  duration  of  our  Constitution,  of  our  Union,  and  in 
all  probability,  our  liberty,  depends.     How  is  this  to  be  effected?" 

Mr.  Calhoun  answered  this  question,  by  pointing  to  the  States 
— at  once  the  creators  and  guardians  of  the  Constitution — to  ar- 
rest, by  their  interposition,  the  encroachments  of  the  federal  head, 
and  thus  preserve  the  distribution  of  powers  under  the  Consti- 
tution. 

"The  great  and  leading  principle  is,  that  the  General  Govern- 


1 


134  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

ment  emanated  from  the  people  of  the  several  States,  forming 
distinct  political  communities,  and  acting  in  their  separate  and 
sovereign  capacities,  and  not  from  all  the  people  forming  one  ag- 
gregate political  community ;  that  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  is,  in  fact,  a  compact,  to  which  each  State  is  a  party,  in 
the  character  already  described ;  and  that  the  several  States,  or 
parties,  have  a  right  to  judge  of  its  infractions,  and  in  case  of  a 
deliberate,  palpable,  and  dangerous  exercise  of  power,  not  dele- 
gated, they  have  the  right,  in  the  last  resort,  to  use  the  language 
of  the  Virginia  resolutions,  'to  interpose  for  arresting  the  progress 
of  the  evil,  and  for  maintaining,  within  their  respective  limits,  the 
authorities,  rights  and  liberties  appertaining  to  them.'  This  right 
of  interposition,  thus  solemnly  asserted  by  the  State  of  Virginia, 
be  it  called  what  it  may — state-right,  veto,  nullification,  or  by 
any  other  name — I  conceive  to  be  the  fundamental  principle  of 
our  system,  resting  on  facts  historically  as  certain  as  our  Revo- 
lution itself,  and  deductions  as  simple  and  demonstrative  as  those 
of  any  political  or  moral  truth  whatever ;  and  I  firmly  believe 
that  on  its  recognition  depends  the  stability  and  safety  of  our 
political  institutions." 

Such  is  the  doctrine  of  nullification.     It  was  doubtless  first 
perceived  and  broached  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  supported  by  Mr. 
Madison,  as  a  part  of  our  system  of  government,  in  his  celebrated 
Report  on  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws,  in  the  Virginia  Legisla- 
ture.    But  nullification,  as  a  great  principle  of  all  government — 
nullification,  in  its  admirable  philosophy — is  the  discovery  of 
Mr.  Calhoun.    The  difference  between  his  expositions  and  those 
of  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Madison  on  this  subject,  is  the  difference 
between  gold  in  the  rock  and  gold  extracted  and  refined,  and 
prepared  for  universal  use  in  the  commerce  of  the  world.     Whe- 
ther nullification  is  a  part  of  the  system  of  Government  organized 
by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  may  be  doubtful.     The 
Virginia  statesmen  generally,  and  many  of  our  own  statesmen, 
whose  abilities  and  patriotism  no  one  ever  doubted,  limited  the 
right  of  a  State  to  secession.     The  principle,  however,  as  devel- 
\  oped  by  Mr.  Calhoun,  must  endure  forever,  as  the  only  founda- 
\  tion  on  which  free  governments  can  be  erected.     Government  is 
\a  great  practical  necessity,  resulting  from  the  condition  of  our 
nallen  nature.     If  this  nature  were  perfect,  no  man  would  do  in- 
justice to  another,  and  there  would  be  no  need  of  government ; 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  135 

but  because  our  nature  is  imperfect,  and  man  will  not  do  justice 
to  his  fellow-man,  governments  are  instituted  to  enforce  justice 
by  the  power  of  all.  But  the  power  of  all  in  government,  on 
account  of  the  frailty  or  the  wickedness  of  men,  tends  again  to 
injustice,  because  those  who  control  it,  or  are  entrusted  with  its 
administration,  pervert  its  powers  for  their  own  selfish  aggran-j 
dizement.  Hence  the  difficulty  of  maintaining  a  free  and  justj 
Government.  We  are  obliged  to  use  the  very  instruments  to 
guide  its  operations  whose  frailty  and  corruption  occasioned  its 
primal  necessity.  There  is  but  one  expedient  to  guard  against 
this  frailty  and  corruption ;  and  that  is,  by  so  organizing  and  dis- 
tributing the  powers  of  government  amongst  its  Various  agents, 
as  to  make  one  a  check  on  the  abuse  of  another,  and  enable  all 
interests  and  sections  to  protect  themselves  by  only  yielding  such 
powers  as  are  common  and  equal  in  their  exercise.  In  this  con- 
sists the  whole  science  of  confederated  republican  governments. 
Unlimited  power  in  government,  either  in  one  man  or  in  many, 
is  despotism.  Divided  power,  checking  wrong,  and  enforcing 
justice,  is  liberty.  In  developing  and  enforcing  this  great  prin- 
ciple, which,  like  attraction  amongst  the  heavenly  bodies,  is  the 
great  law  of  all  free  governments,  Mr.  Calhoun  stands  unri- 
valled among  the  statesmen  of  ancient  or  modern  days.  On  his 
labours  and  accomplishments  on  this  great  subject,  I  know  that 
he  chiefly  rested  his  title  to  future  fame.  When,  during  General 
Jackson's  administration,  he  acted  with  the  Whigs,  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  and  was  claimed  as  one  of  them,  he  declared 
that  he  belonged  to  neither  of  the  great  parties  in  the  Union,  but 
was  a  Nullifier.  Long  after  the  names  of  Whig  and  Democrat 
should  be  buried  in  oblivion,  he  hoped  to  live  as  a  nullifier — the 
great  nullifier — whose  principles  would  guide  and  bless  the  world 
with  liberty.  He  lived  to  see — from  a  disregard  of  these  princi- 
ples— that  beautiful  fabric  of  free  government,  organized  by  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  rent  to  its  foundation,  and 
tottering  to  its  fall.  But  even  in  its  fall  shall  shine  forth  more 
clearly  the  great  truths  he  inculcated ;  and  future  generations, 
seeking  liberty,  will  avoid  the  whirlpool  of  consolidation  into 


136  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

which  we  have  recklessly  plunged,  in  spite  of  all  his  warnings, 
to  rise  probably  again  only  in  divided  fragments. 

The  crisis  approached  in  1832,  in  consequence  of  the  payment 
of  the  public  debt,  and  Mr.  Calhoun  addressed  another  power- 
ful disquisition  on  the  powers  of  Government,  in  a  letter,  to  Gov- 
ernor Hamilton.  As  the  true  relations  which  the  States  in  this 
Union  bear  towards  the  General  Government  may  soon  be  a  mat- 
ter of  practical  and  vital  importance,  a  few  extracts,  elucidating 
this  subject,  may  not  be  inappropriate.  The  right  of  secession 
rests  upon  this  relation. 

"  By  a  State  may  be  meant  either  the  government  of  a  State, 
or  the  people,  as  forming  a  separate  and  independent  commu- 
nity ;  and  by  the  people,  either  the  American  people,  taken  col- 
lectively, as  forming  one  great  community,  or  as  the  people  of 
the  several  States,  forming,  as  above  stated,  separate  and  inde- 
pendent communities.  These  distinctions  are  essential  in  the 
enquiry.  If  by  the  people  be  meant  the  people  collectively,  and 
not  the  people  of  the  several  States,  taken  separately ;  and  if  it 
be  true,  indeed,  that  the  Constitution  is  the  work  of  the  American 
people,  collectively ;  if  it  originated  with  them,  and  derives  its 
authority  from  their  will,  then  there  is  an  end  of  the  argument. 
The  right  claimed  for  a  State,  of  defending  her  reserved  powers 
against  the  General  Government,  would  be  an  absurdity.  View- 
ing the  American  people  collectively  as  the  source  of  political 
power,  the  rights  of  the  States  would  be  mere  concessions — con- 
cessions from  the  common  majority,  and  to  be  revoked  by  them 
with  the  same  facility  that  they  were  granted.  The  States 
would,  on  this  supposition,  bear  to  the  Union  the  same  relation 
that  counties  do  to  the  States ;  and  it  would,  in  that  case,  be  just 
as  preposterous  to  discuss  the  right  of  interposition,  on  the  part 
of  a  State,  against  the  General  Government,  as  that  of  the  coun- 
ties against  the  States  themselves.  That  a  large  portion  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States  thus  regard  the  relation  between  the 
State  and  the  General  Government,  including  many  who  call 
themselves  the  friends  of  State-Rights  and  opponents  of  consoli- 
dation, can  scarcely  be  doubted ;  as  it  is  only  on  that  supposition 
it  can  be  explained  that  so  many  of  that  description  should  de- 
nounce the  doctrine  for  which  the  State  contends,  as  so  absurd. 
But  fortunately,  the  supposition  is  entirely  destitute  of  truth.  So 
far  from  the  Constitution  being  the  work  of  the  American  people 
collectively,  no  such  political  body  either  now  or  ever  did  exist. 
In  that  character  the  people  of  this  country  never  performed  a 


MR.RHETT'S  ORATION.  137 

single  political  act,  nor  indeed  can,  without  an  entire  revolution 
in  all  our  political  relations. 

"  I  challenge  an  instance.  From  the  beginning,  and  in  all  the 
changes  of  political  existence  through  which  we  have  passed,  the 
people  of  the  United  States  have  been  united  as  forming  political 
communities,  and  not  as  individuals.  Even  in  the  first  stage  of 
existence,  they  formed  distinct  colonies,  independent  of  each 
other,  and  politically  united  only  through  the  British  crown. 
In  their  first  imperfect  union,  for  the  purpose  of  resisting  the  en- 
croachments of  the  mother-country,  they  united  as  distinct  politi- 
cal communities ;  and  passing  from  their  colonial  condition,  in 
the  act  announcing  their  independence  to  the  world,  they  de- 
clared themselves,  by  name  and  enumeration,  free  and  independ- 
ent States.  In  that  character,  they  formed  the  old  confederation ; 
and  when  it  was  proposed  to  supersede  the  articles  of  the  confede- 
ration, by  the  present  Constitution,  they  met  in  Convention  as 
States,  acted  and  voted  as  States ;  and  the  Constitution,  when 
formed,  was  submitted  for  ratification  to  the  people  of  the  several 
States;  it  was  ratified  by  them  as  States,  each  State  for  itself; 
each,  by  its  ratification,  binding  its  own  citizens ;  the  parts  thus 
separately  binding  themselves,  and  not  the  whole  the  parts ;  to 
which,  if  it  be  added,  that  it  is  declared,  in  the  preamble  of  the 
Constitution,  to  be  ordained  by  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
and  in  the  article  of  ratification,  when  ratified,  it  is  declared  '  to 
be  binding-  between  the  States  so  ratifying'  —  the  conclusion  is 
inevitable,  that  the  Constitution  is  the  work  of  the  people  of  the 
States,  considered  as  separate  and  independent  political  commu- 
nities ;  that  they  are  its  authors — their  power  created  it,  their 
voice  clothed  it  with  authority — that  the  Government  formed  is 
really  their  agent ;  and  that  the  Union,  of  which  the  Constitution 
is  the  bond,  is  a  union  of  States,  and  not  of  individuals.  No  one 
who  regards  his  character  for  intelligence  and  truth,  has  ever 
ventured  directly  to  deny  these  facts  so  certain ;  but  while  they 
are  too  certain  for  denial,  they  are  also  too  conclusive  in  favour 
of  the  rights  of  the  States  for  admission." 

The  crisis  at  length  came.  The  passage  of  the  tariff  Act  of 
1832,  proclaimed  on  all  sides  to  be  a  final  adjustment,  could  not 
be  satisfactory  to  South  Carolina.  It  was  too  inconsiderable  in 
the  amount  of  its  reductions,  to  arrest  the  policy  of  distribution  ; 
whilst,  by  its  exemption  from  taxation  to  the  manufacturers,  it 
was  more  of  a  protective  tariff  in  principle,  than  the  Act  of  1828. 
The  resistance  party  in  South  Carolina  carried  the  elections  in 
the  fall.     The  Legislature,  by  the  two-thirds  majority,  called  a 


138  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

Convention  of  the  people.  The  times  were  dark  and  lowering  ; 
and  South  Carolina  required  at  the  helm  of  her  affairs  a  man  of 
endoubted  sagacity,  patriotism  and  courage.  She  turned  her 
eyes  to  Gen.  Robert  Y.  Hayne,  her  Senator  in  Congress. 

Gen.  Hayne  was  the  idol  of  the  people,  and  repaid  their  devo- 
tion by  a  fidelity  as  true  as  theirs.  He  loved  South  Carolina  as 
the  knight  of  old  his  bride.  He  loved  popularity,  not  for  the 
sake  of  its  honors  or  emoluments,  but  because  the  heart  of  his 
humanity  delighted  to  beat  in  unison  with  the  warm  pulsations 
of  others.  He  rejoiced  in  the  public  service,  as  the  boy  who 
laughs  and  bounds  and  drives  the  ball  before  him.  His  man- 
ners were  the  perfection  of  frank  and  winning  courtesy.  But 
the  spirit  of  the  soldier  radiated  from  every  look  and  tone.  In 
obeying  the  voice  of  the  State,  he  brought  to  her  service  a  deter- 
mination to  protect  her  from  aggression  or  invasion,  which  no 
terrors  could  daunt.  He  stood,  the  proud  delight  and  confidence 
of  all.  His  inaugural  address,  on  assuming  the  office  of  Gov- 
ernor, penetrated  the  souls  of  all  who  heard  him,  and  drew  tears 
of  kindred  sympathy  from  some  of  the  sternest  of  us.  He  was 
an  orator  in  the  full  meaning  of  oratory,  the  art  of  persuasion. 
Free  and  fast,  the  words  floated  on  his  silvery  voice,  whilst  in- 
genuous and  manly  candour  gave  potency  to  the  arguments  of 
his  fine  intellect.  In  the  meridian  of  his  powers  he  left  public 
life ;  and  borne  along  by  the  prosperity  and  the  ambitious  im- 
agination of  the  country,  entered,  with  his  usual  intrepidity,  into 
the  great  scheme  of  uniting,  by  iron  bonds,  the  South  and  West 
in  commercial  intercourse.  His  name  would  be  written  on  the 
Alleganies,  and  future  generations  would  bless  the  wisdom  and 
energy  by  which  this  great  work  was  accomplished.  But  con- 
vulsion and  ruin  swept  over  the  commercial  world.  The  pro- 
ject failed.  His  heart  sunk  beneath  the  calamity.  Eager  gain 
carped  at  his  doings ;  jealous  misfortune  turned  upon  him  her 
cold  reproachful  eye.  He  died,  the  noblest  victim  of  those  dis- 
astrous times. 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  elected  unanimously  to  fill  the  seat  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  made  vacant  by  the  resignation  of 


MR.RHETT'S  ORATION.  139 

General  Hayne.  The  Convention  of  the  State  met,  and  passed 
an  ordinance  nullifying  the  Tariff  Laws  of  the  United  States 
within  the  limits  of  South  Carolina.  Mr.  Calhoun  stood  forth 
in  the  Senate,  the  leading  champion  of  the  State,  placed  by  his 
policy  in  opposion  to  every  State  in  the  Union,  and  to  all  the  au- 
thorities of  the  General  Government,  with  President  Jackson  at 
its  head. 

Gen.  Jackson  was  a  most  remarkable  man.  Born  and  reared 
and  living,  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  in  a  newly  settled  country, 
his  character  partook  of  the  defects  such  an  existence  naturally 
engenders.  His  education  was  very  limited.  He  learned  nothing 
from  books,  of  the  great  thoughts  of  the  great  men  other  ages 
have  produced  ;  but  human  nature,  as  he  met  it  in  the  pathway 
of  life,  he  thoroughly  studied  and  understood.  The  feeble  en- 
forcement of  the  laws  on  our  frontiers,  necessarily  made  a  man 
of  his  bold  and  reckless  temper  not  very  regardful  of  law.  His 
will  was  his  law,  and  with  his  own  right  arm  he  enforced  it. 
Thus,  from  the  circumstances  of  his  life,  as  well  as  natural  dis- 
position, arose  that  aptitude  and  skill  in  contention  which  made 
him  the  most  formidable  of  personal  foes ;  but  they  also  made 
him  the  most  faithful  of  friends.  He  identified  himself  with  those 
to  whom  he  was  attached,  with  a  blind  devotion  which  only  very 
generous  natures  can  feel,  but  which  meaner  spirits  are  so  apt 
to  take  advantage  of,  and  abuse.  To  conquer  and  rule  men,  if 
not  his  leading  passion,  was  certainly  his  greatest  attribute.  With 
a  powerful,  although  rude  intellect,  to  support  his  fierce  and  iron 
will,  he  could  not  be  otherwise  than  great — great  amongst  men — 
great  in  the  field — great  as  a  civil  ruler.  No  man  was  ever  more 
feared,  no  man  was  ever  more  implicitly  obeyed,  wherever  he 
moved ;  confidence  in  him,  and  distrust  in  others,  irresistably 
spread  over  the  minds  of  those  who  came  within  the  charm  of  his 
fearful  influence.  Yet,  in  his  turn,  he  was  easily  influenced  by 
those  who  bowed  before  his  sway,  and  had  won  his  confidence. 
Placability  was  not  possible  in  such  a  nature.  He  hated  intense- 
ly, and  forgave  only  those  enemies  whom  he  humbled,  or  who 
humbled  themselves  before  his  imperious  domination. 


140  MR.RHETT'S  ORATION. 

Such  was  the  man,  at  least  at  this  period  of  his  life,  armed 
with  all  the  authority  of  the  Government,  whom  Mr.  Calhoun 
faced  in  this  great  controversy.  With  General  Jackson,  it  was, 
perhaps,  not  only  a  political,  but  a  personal  contest.  For  in  the 
correspondence  which  had  taken  place  between  Mr.  Calhoun 
and  himself,  relative  to  his  Florida  campaign,  Mr.  Calhoun  had 
fairly  towered  over  him.  And  to  his  death,  Mr.  Calhoun  be- 
lieved that  this  correspondence  originated  in  the  wily  counsels  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren ;  who  sought,  by  instigating  a  quarrel  between 
General  Jackson  and  himself,  to  supersede  him,  through  the  in- 
fluence of  General  Jacksen,  in  the  commanding  position  he  then 
occupied  in  the  Democratic  party.  Most  assuredly,  Mr.  Cal- 
houn was  the  only  man  who  stood  in  Mr.  Van  Buren's  way 
for  the  Presidency.  But  this  difference  with  General  Jackson 
would  not  have  destroyed  his  lofty  position  in  the  Democratic 
party,  as  second  to  General  Jackson  alone,  had  he  not  taken  sides 
with  his  oppressed  and  suffering  State,  and  trod  with  her  the 
rugged  paths  of  nullification.  How  far  General  Jackson's  feel- 
ings of  personal  hostility  carried  him  in  this  controversy,  it  is 
impossible  to  affirm ;  but  no  one  could  have  pursued  a  course 
more  reckless  and  unconstitutional,  according  to  those  views  of 
the  Constitution  |which  he  had  ever  maintained.  At  a  previous 
session  of  Congress,  he  was  so  satisfied  with  the  positions  as- 
sumed by  General  Hayne,  in  his  speech  on  Foote's  resolutions, 
in  his  contest  with  Mr.  Webster,  that  he  had  it  printed  on  satin, 
framed  and  hung  up,  as  a  memorial  of  his  approbation.  This 
speech  distinctly  affirmed  the  doctrine  of  nullification,  and  of 
secession.  Yet  when  South  Carolina  acted  on  its  principles, 
and  Mr.  Calhoun  represented  them  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  General  Jackson  abandoned  them  all ;  and  his  proclama- 
tion laid  down  the  broadest  doctrines  of  consolidation,  in  order  to 
support  the  unconstitutional  measures  he  required  of  Congress, 
to  coerce  South  Carolina  into  submission.  He  virtually  denied 
the  right  of  secession,  as  well  as  that  of  nullification  ;  and  sur- 
passed Mr.  Webster  himself  in  his  federalism.  The  pen  of  Mr. 
Livingston  was  used  in  writing  the  proclamation ;  but  Mr.  Liv- 


MR.RHETT'S  ORATION.  141 

ingston,  like  General  Jackson,  had  ever  belonged  to  the  Republi- 
can party,  and  had,  moreover,  delivered  a  speech  on  Foote's  res- 
olutions, maintaining  the  rights  and  sovereignty  of  the  States, 
and  repudiating  the  very  doctrines  he  afterwards  put  forth  in 
the  proclamation.  The  tergiversation  of  General  Jackson  and 
Mr.  Livingston,  supported  by  the  whole  Republican  party  in 
Washington,  in  the  passage  of  the  Force  Bill,  shows  how  vain 
it  is  to  rely  on  any  principles,  or  any  party,  to  arrest  the  policy 
of  the  predominating  majority  in  the  Union.  As  the  Constitu- 
tion was  then  disregarded,  to  enforce  the  policy  and  wishes  of  a 
mere  majority ;  and  the  sword  substituted  for  the  guaranties  it 
gave,  so  most  probably  it  will  be,  in  all  future  aggressions.  Av- 
arice will  not  give  up  its  prey  to  right.  Power  will  not  put  up 
its  sword  at  the  bidding  of  reason.  Force  will  be  the  only  bond 
of  the  Union — the  sole  arbiter  of  the  limitations  of  the  Consti- 
tution. 

In  his  great  speech  on  the  Force  bill,  Mr.  Calhoun  manifest- 
ed the  high  and  dauntless  spirit  which  animated  him.  He  met 
General  Jackson's  personal  hostility,  he  met  his  doctrines  and 
his  policy,  with  a  commanding  maintenance  of  the  right,  and 
a  lofty  defiance  of  power,  that  must  be  admired  as  long  as  the  re- 
membrance of  those  times  shall  endure.  He  did  not  remain  on 
the  defensive,  but  in  repelling  General  Jackson's  imputations  on 
his  motives  and  patriotism  in  his  proclamation,  turned  the  wea- 
pons of  his  assailant  against  himself. 

"  The  canvass,  he  said,  in  favor  of  Gen.  Jackson's  election  to 
the  Presidency,  was  carried  on  with  great  zeal,  in  conjunction 
with  that  active  inquiry  into  the  reserved  rights  of  the  States,  on 
which  final  reliance  was  placed.  But  little  did  the  people  of  Car- 
olina dream,  that  the  man  whom  they  were  thus  striving  to  ele- 
vate to  the  highest  seat  of  power,  would  prove  so  utterly  false  to 
all  their  hopes.  Man  is  indeed  ignorant  of  the  future  ;  nor  was 
there  ever  a  stronger  illustration  of  the  observation,  than  is  afford- 
ed by  the  result  of  that  election.  The  very  event  on  which  they 
had  built  their  hopes,  has  been  turned  against  them ;  and  the 
very  individual  to  whom  they  looked  as  a  deliverer,  and  whom, 
under  that  impression,  they  strove  for  so  many  years  to  elevate 
to  power,  is  now  the  most  powerful  instrument  in  the  hands  of 
his  and  their  bitterest  opponents,  to  put  down  them  and  their 
cause. 


142  MR.RHETT'S  ORATION. 

"Scarcely  had  he  been  elected,  when  it  became  apparent,  from 
the  organization  of  his  Cabinet,  and  other  indications,  that  all 
their  hopes  of  relief  through  him  were  blasted.  The  admission 
of  a  single  individual  into  the  Cabinet,  under  the  circumstances 
which  accompanied  that  admission,  threw  all  into  confusion. 
The  mischievous  influence  over  the  President,  through  which 
this  individual  was  admitted  into  the  Cabinet,  soon  became 
apparent.  Instead  of  turning  his  eyes  forward  to  the  period  of 
the  payment  of  the  public  debt,  which  was  then  near  at  hand, 
and  to  the  present  dangerous  political  crisis,  which  was  inevi- 
table, unless  averted  by  a  timely  and  wise  system  of  measures, 
the  attention  of  the  President  was  absorbed  by  mere  party 
arrangements  and  circumstances  too  disreputable  to  be  men- 
tioned here,  except  by  the  most  distant  allusion. 

"Here  I  must  pause  for  a  moment,  to  repel  a  charge  which 
has  been  so  often  made,  and  which  even  the  President  has  reiter- 
ated in  his  proclamation — the  charge  that  I  have  been  actuated, 
in  the  part  which  I  have  taken,  by  feelings  of  disappointed  am- 
bition. I  again  repeat  that  I  deeply  regret  the  necessity  of  no- 
ticing myself  in  so  important  a  discussion,  and  that  nothing  can 
induce  me  to  advert  to  my  own  course,  but  the  conviction  that  it 
is  due  to  the  cause,  at  which  a  blow  is  aimed  through  me.  It  is 
only  in  this  view  that  I  notice  it. 

"It  illy  became  the  Chief  Magistrate  to  make  this  charge. 
The  course  which  the  State  took,  and  which  led  to  the  present 
controversy  between  her  and  the  General  Government,  was  taken 
as  far  back  as  1828 — in  the  very  midst  of  that  severe  canvass 
which  placed  him  in  power — and  in  that  very  canvass,  Carolina 
openly  avowed  and  zealously  maintained  those  very  principles 
which  he,  the  Chief  Magistrate,  now  officially  pronounces  to  be 
treason  and  rebellion.  That  was  the  period  at  which  he  ought 
to  have  spoken.  Having  remained  silent  then,  and  having,  un- 
der his  approval,  implied  by  that  silence,  received  the  support  and 
the  vote  of  the  State.  I,  if  a  sense  of  decorum  did  not  prevent  it, 
might  recriminate,  with  the  double  charge  of  deception  and  in- 
gratitude. My  object,  however,  is  not  to  assail  the  President,  but 
to  defend  myself  against  a  most  unfounded  charge.  The  time 
alone  at  which  the  course  upon  which  this  charge  of  disappointed 
ambition  is  founded,  will,  of  itself,  repel  it,  in  the  eye  of  every  un- 
prejudiced and  honest  man.  The  doctrine  which  I  now  sustain, 
under  the  present  difficulties,  I  openly  avowed  and  maintained, 
immediately  after  the  Act  of  1828 — that  "  bill  of  abominations," 
as  it  has  been  so  often  and  properly  termed.  Was  I  at  that 
period  disappointed  in  any  views  of  ambition  which  I  might  be 
supposed  to  entertain?     I  was  Yice  President  of  the  United 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  143 

States,  elected  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  I  was  a  candi- 
date for  re-election  on  the  ticket  with  General  Jackson  himself, 
with  a  certain  prospect  of  a  triumphant  success  of  that  ticket, 
and  with  a  fair  prospect  of  the  highest  office  to  which  an  Ameri- 
can citizen  can  aspire.  What  was  my  course  under  these  pros- 
pects ?  Did  I  look  to  my  own  advancement,  or  to  an  honest  and 
faithful  discharge  of  my  duty  ?  Let  facts  speak  for  themselves. 
The  road  of  ambition  lay  before  me — I  had  but  to  follow  the 
corrupt  tendency  of  the  times — but  I  chose  to  tread  the  rugged 
path  of  duty." 

His  denunciations  of  the  Force  Bill  are  in  a  mingled  strain  of 
reasoning,  invective,  and  defiance,  worthy  a  great  advocate  of 
liberty.  It  is  justly  amenable  to  all  his  denunciations ;  for  as  an 
aggression  on  the  rights  and  sovereignty  of  the  States,  it  stands 
unparalleled.  It  was  a  sufficient  cause  for  a  speedy  and  violent 
revolution.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  revolution  itself;  for  it  reversed  the 
whole  order  of  the  system  of  the  Federal  Government.  Instead 
of  the  States  being  the  masters  and  partners  of  the  system,  it 
made  the  General  Government  the  master  and  proprietor  of  the 
States.  They  are  its  dependents,  to  be  controlled  by  force,  under 
the  dictation  of  a  majority  in  Congress,  and  a  tyrannical  Presi- 
dent. There  is  not  a  word  in  the  Constitution  which  justifies 
the  assumption  that  the  States  ever  intended  to  concede  to  the 
General  Government  the  power  to  coerce  them,  by  military  force, 
under  any  circumstances.  Even  if  a  State  made  war  on  a  sister 
State,  there  is  no  authority  for  the  General  Government  to  inter- 
fere. The  power  given  to  Congress  '  to  repel  invasions,  and  sup- 
press insurrections,'  and  to  the  President,  'to  see  that  the  laws 
are  faithfully  executed,'  were  not  conceded  by  the  States  to  enable 
the  General  Government  to  coerce  them,  but  to  aid  them  in  pre- 
serving peace  within  their  borders.  But  tyranny  never  wants 
pretexts  for  oppression  ;  whilst  its  precedents  never  die,  but  with 
its  power.  In  view  of  things  around  us,  it  is  well  to  listen  to  the 
stern  language  of  Mr.  Calhoun  against  this  last  claim  of  power 
on  the  part  of  the  General  Government,  to  seal  consolidation  by 
blood : 

"  This  bill  proceeds  on  the  ground  that  the  entire  sovereignty 
of  this  country  belongs  to  the  American  people,  as  forming  one 


144  MR.RHETTS  ORATION. 

great  community,  and  regards  the  States  as  mere  fractions  or 
counties,  and  not  as  an  integral  part  of  the  Union,  having  no 
more  right  to  resist  the  encroachments  of  the  Government  than  a 
county  has  to  resist  the  authority  of  a  State ;  and  treating  such 
resistance  as  the  lawless  acts  of  so  many  individuals,  without 
possessing  sovereignty,  or  political  rights.     It  has  been  said  that 
the  bill  declares  war  against  South  Carolina.     No !     It  decrees 
the  massacre  of  her  citizens !     War  has  something  ennobling 
about  it,  and,  with  all  its  horrors,  brings  into  action  the  highest 
qualities,  intellectual  and  moral.     It  was  perhaps  in  the  order  of 
Providence  that  it  should  be  permitted  for  that  very  purpose. 
But  this  bill  declares  no  war,  except  indeed  it  be  that  which 
savages  wage — a  war,  not  against  the  community,  but  the  citi- 
zens of  whom  that  community  is  composed.     But  I  regard  it  as 
worse  than  savage  warfare — as  an  attempt  to  take  away  life 
under  the  color  of  law,  without  trial  by  jury,  or  any  other  safe- 
guard which  the  Constitution  has  thrown  around  the  life  of  the 
citizen  !     It  authorizes  the  President,  or  even  his  deputies,  when 
they  may  suppose  the  law  to  be  violated,  without  the  interven- 
tion of  a  Court  or  jury,  to  kill  without  mercy  or  discrimination  ! 
It  has  been  said,  by  the  Senator  from  Tennessee,  (Mr.  Grundy) 
to  be  a  measure  of  peace  !     Yes,  such  peace  as  the  wolf  gives  to 
the  lamb — the  kite  to  the  dove  !     Such  peace  as  Russia  gives  to 
Poland,  or  death  to  its  victim !     A  peace,  by  extinguishing  the 
political  existence  of  the  State,  by  awing  her  into  an  abandon- 
ment of  the  exercise  of  every  power  which  constitutes  her  a  sove- 
reign community.     It  is  to  South  Carolina  a  question  of  self  pre- 
servation ;  and  I  pronounce  it,  that  should  this  bill  pass,  and  an 
attempt  be  made  to  enforce  it,  it  will  be  resisted  at  every  hazard 
— even  that  of  death  itself.     Death  is  not  the  greatest  calamity : 
there  are  others  still  more  terrible  to  the  free  and  brave,  and 
among  them  may  be  placed  the  loss  of  liberty  and  honor.     There 
are  thousands  of  her  brave  sons,  who,  if  need  be,  are  prepared 
cheerfully  to  lay  down  their  lives  in  defence  of  the  State,  and 
the  great  principles  of  constitutional  liberty,  for  which  she  is  con- 
tending.    God  forbid  that  this  should  become  necessary !     It 
never  can  be,  unless  this  Government  is  resolved  to  bring  the 
question  to  extremity,  when  her  gallant  sons  will  stand  prepared 
to  perform  the  last  duty — to  die  nobly. 

"  It  is  said  the  bill  ought  to  pass,  because  the  law  must  be  en- 
forced. The  imperial  edict  must  be  executed.  It  is  under  such 
sophistry,  couched  in  general  terms,  without  looking  to  the  limit- 
ations which  must  ever  exist  in  the  practical  exercise  of  power, 
that  the  most  cruel  and  despotic  acts  ever  have  been  covered.  It 
was  such  sophistry  as  this  that  cast  Daniel  into  the  lion's  den, 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  145 

and  the  three  Innocents  into  the  fiery  furnace.  Under  the  same 
sophistry  the  bloody  edicts  of  Nero  and  Caligula  were  executed. 
The  law  must  be  enforced.  Yes,  the  Act  imposing  the  '  tea-tax' 
must  be  executed.  This  was  the  very  argument  which  impelled 
Lord  North  and  his  administration  in  that  mad  career  which 
forever  separated  us  from  the  British  crown.  Under  a  similar 
sophistry,  'that  religion  must  be  protected/  how  many  martyrs 
have  been  tied  to  the  stake !  What !  acting  on  this  vague  ab- 
straction, are  you  prepared  to  enforce  a  law,  without  considering 
whether  it  be  just  or  unjust,  constitutional  or  unconstitutional? 
Will  you  collect  money  when  it  is  acknowledged  that  it  is  not 
wanted  ?  He  who  earns  the  money,  who  digs  it  from  the  earth 
with  the  sweat  of  his  brow,  has  a  just  title  to  it,  against  the  uni- 
verse. No  one  has  a  right  to  touch  it  without  his  consent,  except 
his  Government,  and  it  only  to  the  extent  of  its  legitimate  wants ; 
to  take  more  is  robbery,  and  you  propose,  by  this  bill,  to  enforce 
robbery,  by  murder.  Yes :  to  this  result  you  must  come,  by  this 
miserable  sophistry,  this  vague  abstraction,  of  enforcing  the  law, 
without  a  regard  to  the  fact  whether  the  law  be  just  or  unjust, 
constitutional  or  unconstitutional. 

"  In  the  same  spirit  we  are  told  that  the  Union  must  be  pre- 
served, without  regard  to  the  means.  And  how  is  it  proposed 
to  preserve  the  Union?  By  force!  Does  any  man  in  his  senses 
believe  that  this  beautiful  structure — this  harmonious  aggregate 
of  States,  produced  by  the  joint  consent  of  all — can  be  preserved 
by  force  ?  Its  very  introduction  will  be  the  certain  destruction 
of  this  Federal  Union.  No  !  no  !  You  cannot  keep  the  States 
united  in  their  constitutional  and  federal  bonds  by  force.  Force 
may  indeed  hold  the  parts  together,  but  such  union  would  be 
the  bond  between  master  and  slave — a  union  of  exaction  on  one 
side,  and  of  unqualified  obedience  on  the  other.  That  obedience 
which,  we  are  told  by  the  Senator  of  Pennsylvania,  is  the  Union ! 
Yes,  exaction  on  the  side  of  the  master ;  for  this  very  bill  is  in- 
tended to  collect  what  can  no  longer  be  called  taxes-— the  volun- 
tary contribution  of  a  free  people — but  tribute — tribute,  to  be  col- 
lected under  the  mouths  of  the  cannon  !  Your  Custom-House  is 
already  transformed  to  a  garrison,  and  that  garrison  with  its  bat- 
teries turned,  not  against  the  enemy  of  your  country — but  on 
subjects  (I  will  not  say  citizens)  on  whom  you  propose  to  levy 
contributions.  Has  reason  fled  from  our  borders?  Have  we 
ceased  to  reflect  ?  It  is  madness  to  suppose  that  the  Union  can 
be  preserved  by  force.  I  tell  you  plainly,  that  the  bill,  should  it 
pass,  cannot  be  enforced.  It  will  prove  only  a  blot  upon  your 
statute-book — a  reproach  to  the  year,  and  a  disgrace  to  the 
American  Senate.  I  repeat  that  it  will  not  be  executed ;  it  will 
10 


146  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

rouse  the  dormant  spirit  of  the  people,  and  open  their  eyes  to  the 
approach  of  despotism.  The  country  has  sunk  into  avarice  and 
political  corruption,  from  which  nothing  can  arouse  it,  but  some 
measure  on  the  part  of  Government,  of  folly  and  madness,  such 
as  that  now  under  consideration." 

The  concluding  paragraph  of  this  speech  developes  so  truly 
the  nature  of  the  contest,  and  its  results,  that  I  cannot  forbear 
transcribing  it. 

u  We  have  now  sufficient  experience  to  ascertain  that  the  ten- 
dency to  conflict,  in  the  action  of  the  General  Government,  is 
between  the  southern  and  other  sections.  The  latter,  having  a 
decided  majority,  must  habitually  be  possessed  of  the  powers  of 
the  Government,  both  in  this  and  in  the  other  house ;  and  being 
governed  by  that  instinctive  love  of  power,  so  natural  to  the 
human  breast,  they  must  become  the  advocates  of  the  power  of 
Government,  and  in  the  same  degree  opposed  to  the  limitations ; 
while  the  weaker  section  is  as  necessarily  thrown  on  the  other 
side  of  the  limitations.  One  section  is  the  natural  guardian  of 
the  delegated  powers,  and  the  other  of  the  reserved ;  and  the 
struggle  on  the  side  of  the  former  will  be  to  enlarge  the  powers, 
while  that  on  the  opposite  side  will  be  to  restrain  them  within 
their  constitutional  limits.  The  contest  will,  in  fact,  be  a  con- 
test between  power  and  liberty,  and  such  I  consider  the  present 
— a  contest  in  which  the  weaker  section,  with  its  peculiar  labor, 
productions  and  institutions,  has  at  stake  all  that  can  be  dear  to 
preserve.  Should  we  be  able  to  maintain,  in  their  full  vigour, 
our  reserved  rights,  liberty  and  prosperity  will  be  our  portion ; 
but  if  we  yield,  and  permit  the  stronger  interest  to  concentrate 
within  itself  all  the  powers  of  the  Government,  then  will  our  fate 
be  more  wretched  than  that  of  the  aborigines  whom  we  have 
expelled.  In  this  great  struggle  between  the  delegated  and  re- 
served powers,  so  far  from  repining  that  my  lot  and  that  of  those 
whom  I  represent  is  cast  on  the  side  of  the  latter,  I  rejoice  that 
such  is  the  fact ;  for  though  we  participate  in  but  few  of  the 
advantages  of  the  Government,  we  are  compensated,  and  more 
than  compensated,  in  not  being  so  much  exposed  to  its  corrup- 
tions. Nor  do  I  repine  that  the  duty  so  difficult  to  be  discharged 
as  the  defence  of  the  reserved  powers  against,  apparently,  such 
fearful  odds,  has  been  assigned  to  us.  To  discharge  successfully 
this  high  duty,  requires  the  highest  qualities,  moral  and  intel- 
lectual ;  and  should  we  perform  it  with  a  zeal  and  ability  in  pro- 
portion to  its  magnitude,  instead  of  being  mere  planters,  our  sec- 
tion will  become  distinguished  for  its  patriots  and  statesmen. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  we  prove  unworthy  of  this  high 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  147 

destiny— if  we  yield  to  the  steady  encroachments  of  power,  the 
severest  calamity  and  most  debasing  corruption  will  overspread 
the  land.  Every  southern  man,  true  to  the  interests  of  his  sec- 
tion, and  faithful  to  the  duties  which  Providence  has  allotted  to 
him,  will  be  forever  excluded  from  the  honors  and  emoluments 
of  this  Government,  which  will  be  reserved  for  those  only  who 
have  qualified  themselves  by  political  prostitution." 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  not  left  to  take  the  whole  field  of  debate  to 
himself.  Mr.  Webster,  the  greatest  advocate  for  consolidation, 
since  the  day  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  undertook  to  reply  to  the 
principles  laid  down  in  certain  resolutions  he  had  oifered  in  the 
Senate,  affirmative  of  the  constitutional  doctrines  on  which  rest- 
ed the  right  of  State  interposition.  I  am  not,  I  think,  governed 
by  any  undue  partiality,  when  I  say  that  no  unprejudiced  mind 
can  read  his  reply  to  Mr.  Webster,  without  yielding  the  palm  of 
victory  to  Mr.  Calhoun.  Take  Mr.  Webster's  concessions,  and 
he  was  overthrown  by  their  inevitable  deductions.  Admit  that 
the  States  were  ever  sovereign — and  that  the  Constitution  is  a 
compact, — and  the  right  of  either  State  interposition  or  secession 
is  inevitable.  A  more  admirable  specimen  of  logic  in  debate, 
was  never  embalmed  in  the  English  language.  Mr.  Calhoun 
seemed  to  feel  that  he  had  at  least  a  foeman  worthy  of  his  steel  j 
and  that  the  two  great  antagonistic  principles  of  government, 
which  had  agitated  the  Union  from  its  foundation,  were  now  to 
grapple  each  other  in  a  mortal  death-struggle.  He  conquered. 
The  triumph  was  ours ;  but  where  are  the  fruits  of  victory  ? 
Where  is  that  constitutional  liberty  which  the  blazing  sword  of 
his  spirit  won  for  us  in  this  great  controversy  ? 

The  Tariff  difficulty  was  terminated  by  the  Tariff  Act  of 
1833 — commonly  called  the  Compromise  Act.  This  Act  was 
introduced  by  Mr.  Clay  into  the  Senate  of  the  U.  States ;  and 
supported  by  him  as  a  compromise,  and  a  final  adjustment  of  the 
Tariff  question.  Its  whole  merit  consisted  in  its  finality.  It 
proposed  to  continue  the  protective  policy  for  nine  years,  in  order 
that  those  engaged  in  manufactures  should  have  due  time  to  ac- 
commodate their  interests  to  the  change  of  policy,  which  it  would 
ordain.     For  seven  years  the  reductions  of  the  duties  were  to  be 


148  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

very  inconsiderable,  being  only  ten  per  cent  of  the  excess  over 
20  per  cent ;  but  in  the  two  last  years,  the  remaining  excess  was 
to  come  down  to  20  per  cent  ad  valorem  :  and  here,  at  this  level 
as  a  maximum,  with  a  free  list  for  the  benefit  of  the  manufactu- 
rers, the  Tariff  was  to  remain  forever. 

A  compromise  with  wrong  doers,  is  always  of  doubtful  wis- 
dom ;  for  those  who  have  not  principles  to  restrain  them  from 
the  perpetration  of  injustice  in  the  first  instance,  will  seldom  be 
withheld  from  renewing  it  by  any  mere  considerations  of  good 
faith.  Such  men  are  far  more  apt  to  practice  hypocrisy  for  the 
purpose  of  disarming  opposition,  than  to  carry  out,  with  fidelity, 
engagements  which  must  overthrow  their  policy.  Mr.  Calhoun 
(as,  at  the  time,  the  whole  world,  but  the  few  in  his  secrets,)  be- 
lieved Mr.  Clay,  when  he  asserted,  in  the  Senate,  that  the  Act  of 
?33  was  &  final  settlement  of  the  Tariff,  and  a  final  abandonment 
of  the  protective  policy.  It  appears  now,  by  his  late  confessions 
in  the  Senate,  that  he  himself,  in  concert  with  the  manufactu- 
rers, in  proposing  and  passing  this  Act,  meditated  and  practised 
a  gigantic  fraud  upon  the  Senate  and  the  country.  Neither  he 
nor  they  ever  intended  that  the  protective  policy  should  be  aban- 
doned. They  never  intended  that  the  Act  should  be  in  opera- 
tion longer  than  the  seven  years,  during  which  it  gave  ample 
protection  to  the  manufacturers.  They  intended  that  before  the 
last  reductions  should  take  place,  by  which  the  South  was  to  be 
benefited,  the  Act  was  to  be  overthrown,  and  the  protective  policy 
renewed.  When,  however,  by  propositions  in  Congress,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  overflowing  revenue  which  this  Tariff  produced, 
there  was  danger  that  the  reductions  of  the  first  years  should  be 
hastened,  Mr.  Clay  did  not  scruple  to  make  appeals,  on  the  floor 
of  the  Senate,  to  the  Senators  from  South  Carolina  and  the  South, 
to  maintain  the  solemn  faith  of  this  compromise.  They  did 
maintain  it ;  and  Mr.  Calhoun,  in  his  speech  on  the  Tariff  of 
1842,  alluding  to  Mr.  Clay's  pledges  on  these  occasions,  says : 
"  That  the  Act  of  1842  would  entirely  supersede  the  Compro- 
ise  Act,  and  violate  pledges  openly  given  here  in  this  Chamber, 
by  its  distinguished  author,  and  the  present  Governor  of  Mas- 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  149 

sachusetts,  (Mr.  Davis,)  then  a  member  of  this  body,  that  if  we 
of  the  South  would  adhere  to  the  compromise,  while  it  ivas  oper- 
ating favorably  to  the  manufacturing  interest,  they  would  stand 
by  it  when  it  came  to  operate  favorably  to  us" 

But  these  public  pledges  did  not  alter  the  secret  arrangements 
entered  into  with  the  manufacturers ;  and  true  to  his  secret,  but 
false  to  his  public  pledges,  Mr.  Clay  afterwards  importuned  Pres- 
ident Van  Buren  to  overthrow  the  compromise,  by  recommending 
increased  duties.  Failing  in  this,  in  1842,  he  offered  resolutions 
in  the  Senate,  just  before  he  resigned  his  seat,  entirely  at  variance 
with  its  provisions.  Mr.  Calhoun  was  ignorant  of  the  premed- 
itated treachery ;  but  could  not  fail  to  see  the  open  manifestation 
of  it,  in  these  resolutions,  although  they  professed  to  respect  the 
compromise.  In  his  speech  exposing  them,  he  said,  "  That 
while  they  profess  to  respect  the  Compromise  Act,  they  violate  it 
in  almost  every  essential  particular  but  one,  the  ad  valorem  prin- 
ciple ;  and  even  that,  I  fear,  it  is  intended  to  set  aside  by  the  jug- 
gle of  home  valuation."  He  was  not  aware  that  this  Act,  from 
its  inception,  was  a  game  of  juggling,  and  nothing  else,  on  the 
part  of  the  manufacturers,  and  their  great  leader ;  and  that  their 
faith,  like  their  policy,  was  only  that  of  robbers.  Of  course,  in 
1842,  so  soon  as  they  had  the  power,  they  carried  out  their  secret 
purposes,  and  consummated  their  fraud  by  the  entire  overthrow 
of  the  Tariff  Act  of  1833.  The  Tariff  of  '42  was  modified  by 
the  Tariff  of  '46,  although  identical  in  principle ;  but  from  the 
indications  at  our  last  session  of  Congress,  the  protective  policy 
is  again  to  be  renewed  in  all  its  oppressive  features,  as  the  ir- 
revocable policy  of  the  master  section  of  the  Union. 

I  come  now,  gentlemen,  to  that  last  great  subject  on  which 
Mr.  Calhoun  rendered  his  last  services  to  us  and  to  the  Union — 
the  subject  of  slavery.  His  prophetic  warnings  and  earnest  en- 
deavors to  awake  the  public  mind  of  the  country,  to  the  dangers 
which  environed  this  question,  must  afford  matter  for  profound 
contemplation,  and  the  deepest  admiration,  to  the  future  historian 
who  shall  record  our  times.  He  probably  will  narrate,  that  when 
Mr.  Calhoun  died  the  Union  lost  its  last  and  best  counsellor 


4WcA  ^WlxfiwJ 


150  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

and  friend  ;  and  that  when  his  great  conservative  spirit  no  longer 
stood  in  the  councils  of  the  country,  to  arrest  the  rising  tide  of 
consolidation,  it  rose  unchecked,  and  bursting  over  the  barriers  of 
the  Constitution,  buried  the  Union  beneath  its  foul  and  turbid 
waters. 

The  subject  of  slavery  is  difficult  of  comprehension  to  those 
only  who  study  it  in  the  light  of  abstract  principles ;  and  unfor- 
tunately these  comprise  the  greater  part  of  its  enquirers.  It  is 
very  largely  a  question  of  facts,  which  must  necessarily  qualify 
and  alter  all  abstract  reasoning  concerning  it.  The  very  leaves 
of  the  forest,  and  the  sands  on  the  sea  shore,  vary  in  size  and 
form.  The  whole  animal  creation,  from  the  insect  which  crawls, 
to  man,  the  lord  of  all,  teems  with  variety.  Nothing  is  equal — 
nothing  is  alike ;  whilst  the  broad  marks  of  distinction  and  ine- 
quality are  stamped  on  every  species  of  every  kind  of  animal  or 
human  existence.  Yet  the  abolitionists,  on  the  subject  of  slave- 
ry, insist  upon  it  that  all  men,  and  races  of  men,  are  equal  in 
their  moral  and  intellectual  endowments.  If  the  hypotheses  are 
true  on  which  they  rest  their  deductions,  there  will  be  no  dispu- 
tation as  to  their  conclusions.  Are  all  men  equal  ?  If  so,  then 
all  ought  to  be,  and,  from  the  nature  of  things,  will  be,  equally 
free.  Are  the  races  of  men  equal  in  intellectual  and  moral  attri- 
butes '?  If  they  are,  they  ought  to  enjoy,  and  must  enjoy,  equal 
privileges  in  society,  and  equal  political  rights.  But  what  says 
Nature  to  these  enquiries,  answering  from  her  analogies,  through- 
out all  creation,  animate  and  inanimate  ?  It  has  pleased  the 
Almighty  Creator  of  the  universe,  to  make  men  unequal — un- 
equal in  intellect,  in  character  and  circumstances.  As  all  men 
differ  in  external  form  and  features,  so  do  they  diner  in  their  in- 
ternal, mental  and  moral  characteristics.  What  is  the  result  ? 
Why,  that  the  strong  must  rule,  the  weak  serve.  Would  the 
weak  be  happier  by  ruling,  instead  of  serving ;  or  would  the 
strong  be  happier  by  serving,  instead  of  ruling  ?  If  it  were  pos- 
sible to  force  into  existence  such  an  unnatural  condition  of  things, 
it  is  plain  that  nothing  but  confusion_and  misery  would  be  the 
result.    Men j  instead  of  occupying  the  spheres  of  duty  and  use- 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  151 

fulness,  to  which  they  are  best  adapted,  would  be  placed  in  those 
for  which  they  are  least  qualified.  By  the  natural  order  of 
things,  in  every  age,  and  under  all  forms  of  government,  there 
have  been  the  poor — and  there  have  been  those  who  serve.  Is  it 
wrong  that  any  should  be  poor,  or  that  any  should  serve '?  Then 
blame  the  Creator,  who  has  thus  ordained  things  from  the  begin- 
ning, by  making  men,  and  the  races  of  men,  unequal ;  not  man, 
who  did  not  make,  and  cannot  unmake,  his  nature.  Where  there 
is  but  one  race  in  a  community,  there  may  be  political  equality 
in  rights — but  this  cannot  give  equality  in  mind,  character  and 
condition.  Servitude  still  prevails  in  one  form  or  another,  from 
a  necessity  as  stern  as  the  laws.  But,  where  the  races  are  differ- 
ent— and  one  race  is  inferior  to  the  other — the  inferior  race  must 
be  exterminated,  or  fall  into  such  a  state  of  subjection  as  to  pre- 
sent motives  for  their  preservation  to  the  stronger  race.  The 
Anglo-Saxon  race,  at  least,  will  not  amalgamate  with  others ; 
and  when  any  of  the  inferior  races  have  been  placed  in  a  condi- 
tion of  competition  and  equality  with  them,  annihilation  has  al- 
ways been  their  doom,  or  they  have  left  the  country  to  the  infe- 
rior race.  Of  all  the  races  of  men,  the  negro  race  is  the  most  in- 
ferior. From  tbe  earliest  records  of  history,  they  have  been 
slaves  to  the  other  races,  and  have  never  risen,  by  their  own  un-  ; 
aided  energies,  from  a  condition  of  barbarism  to  any  degree  of 
enlightened  civilization.  In  the  condition  of  slavery  alone  have 
they  ever  been  of  any  use  to  the  world  :  and  where  the  govern- 
ance and  protection  this  condition  produces  have  been  with- 
drawn, they  have  relapsed  into  indolence,  ignorance  and  barbar- 
irm.  This  is  the  experience  of  the  world.  The  hoarded  facts 
of  centuries  are  before  us,  to  enlighten  us  on  the  subject  of  Afri- 
can slavery.  All  facts  are  despised  ;  and  fanaticism,  with  furi- 
ous and  mad  abstractions,  cries  out  for  emancipation.  Mr.  Cal- 
houn was  not  slow  in  perceiving  the  true  bearings  of  the  insti- 
tution of  African  slavery  in  the  Southern  States.  He  was  the 
first,  I  believe,  of  great  Statesmen  in  the  country,  who  denounced 
the  cant — that  slavery  is  an  evil— ^a  curse. 

"I  take  higher  ground,"  he  exclaimed,  "I  hold  that,  in  the  pre- 


152  MR.RHETT'S  ORATION. 

sent  state  of  civilization,  where  two  races  of  different  origin,  and 
distinguished  by  colour,  and  other  physical  differences,  as  well 
as  intellectual,  are  brought  together,  the  relation  now  existing  in 
the  slaveholding  States,  between  the  two  races,  is,  instead  of  an 
evil,  a  good — a  positive  good  I  feel  myself  called  on  to  speak 
freely  upon  this  subject,  where  the  honour  and  interests  of  those 
I  represent  are  involved.  I  appeal  to  facts.  Never,  before,  has 
the  black  race  of  Central  Africa,  from  the  dawn  of  history  to 
the  present  day,  attained  a  condition  so  civilized  and  so  im- 
proved, not  only  physically,  but  morally  and  intellectually.  It 
came  amongst  us  in  a  low,  degraded  and  savage  condition,  and, 
in  the  course  of  a  few  generations,  it  has  grown  up,  under  the  fos- 
tering care  of  our  institutions,  reviled  as  they  have  been,  to  its 
present  comparatively  civilized  condition.  This,  with  the  rapid 
increase  of  numbers,  is  conclusive  proof  of  the  general  happi- 
ness of  the  race,  in  spite  of  all  exaggerated  tales  to  the  contrary. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  white  or  European  Race  has  not  degene- 
rated. It  has  kept  pace  with  its  brethren  in  other  sections  of  the 
Union  where  slavery  does  not  exist.  It  is  odious  to  make 
comparisons ;  but  I  appeal  to  all  sides,  whether  the  South  is  not 
equal  in  virtue,  intelligence  and  patriotism,  courage,  disinterested- 
ness, and  all  the  high  qualities  which  adorn  our  nature.  I  ask 
whether  we  have  not  contributed  our  full  share  of  talents  and 
political  wisdom,  in  forming  and  sustaining  this  political  fabric ; 
and  whether  we  have  not  constantly  inclined  strongly  to  the  side 
of  liberty,  and  been  the  first  to  see,  and  the  first  to  resist,  the  en- 
croachments of  power." 

"  The  first  in  Congress  to  see,  and  the  first  to  resist  the  en- 
croachments of  power,"  on  this  momentous  subject,  was,  un- 
doubtedly, our  great  Statesman.  Go  back  with  me,  gentlemen, 
fourteen  years,  and  behold  Mr.  Calhoun  standing  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States.  He  is  opposing  the  reception  of  abolition 
petitions.  Mark  how  his  prophetic  vision,  looking  before  and 
after,  takes  in  the  whole  scope  of  the  past,  the  present,  and  the 
future,  on  this  momentous  question. 

"  Several  years  since,  in  a  discussion  with  one  of  the  Senators 
from  Massachusetts,  (Mr.  Webster,)  before  this  fell  spirit  had 
shewed  itself,  I  then  predicted  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Procla- 
mation and  the  Force  Bill — that  this  Government  had  a  right,  in 
the  last  resort,  to  determine  the  extent  of  its  own  powers,  and 
enforce  it  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  which  was  so  warmly 
maintained  by  that  Senator — would,  at  no  distant  day,  arouse 
the  dormant  spirit  of  abolitionism ;  I  told  him  that  the  doctrine 


w^l 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  153 

was  tantamount  to  the  assumption  of  unlimited  power,  on  the 
part  of  the  Government,  and  that  such  would  be  the  impression 
on  the  public  mind  in  a  large  portion  of  the  Union.  The  con- 
sequence would  be  inevitable — a  large  portion  of  the  Northern 
States  believed  slavery  to  be  a  sin.  and  would  believe  it  to  be  an 
obligation  of  conscience  to  abolish  it,  if  they  should 'feel  them- 
selves in  any  degree  responsible  for  its  continuance,  and  that  his 
doctrine  would,  necessarily,  lead  to  the  belief  of  such  responsi- 
bility. I  then  predicted  that  it  would  commence,  as  it  has,  with 
this  fanatical  portion  of  society ;  and  that  they  would  begin 
their  operations  on  the  weak,  the  ignorant,  the  young,  and  the 
thoughtless,  and  would  gradually  extend  upwards,  till  they  be- 
came strong  enough  to  obtain  political  control,  when  he,  and 
others  holding  the  highest  stations  in  society,  would,  however 
reluctant,  be  compelled  to  yield  to  their  doctrine,  or  be  driven 
into  obscurity.  But  four  years  have  since  elapsed,  and  all  this 
is  already  in  a  course  of  regular  fulfilment. 

"  Standing  at  the  point  of  time  at  which  we  have  now  arrived, 
it  will  not  be  more  difficult  to  trace  the  course  of  future  events 
than  it  was  then. 

"  Those  who  imagine  that  the  spirit  now  abroad  in  the  North 
will  die  away  of  itself,  without  a  shock  or  convulsion,  have 
formed  a  very  inadequate  conception  of  its  leal  character.  It 
will  continue  to  rise  and  spread,  unless  prompt  and  efficient 
measures  to  stay  its  progress  be  adopted.  Already  it  has  taken 
possession  of  the  pulpit,  of  the  schools,  and,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  of  the  press  ;  those  great  instruments  by  which- the- mind 
of  the  rising  generation  will  be  formed.  However  sound  the 
great  body  of  the  non-slaveholding  States  are  at  present,  in  a 
few  years  they  will  be  succeeded  by  those  who  will  have  been 
taught  to  hate  the  people  and  institutions  of  nearly  one-half  of 
this  Union,  with  a  hatred  more  deadly  than  one  hostile  nation 
ever  entertained  towards  another.  It  is  easy  to  see  the  end.  ]3y 
the  necessary  course  of  events,  if  left  to  themselves,  we  must 
become,  finally,  two  people.  It  is  impossible,  under  the  deadly 
Hatred  wliieirmusT spring  up  between  the  two  great  sections,  if 
the  present  causes  are  permitted  to  operate  unchecked,  that  we 
should  continue  under  the  same  political  system.  The  conflict- 
ing elements  will  burst  the  Union  asunder,  as  powerful  as  are 
the  links  which  hold  it  together.  Abolition  and  the  Union  can- 
not co-exist.  As  the  friend  of  the  Union,  I  openly  proclaim  it  ; 
and  the  sooner  it  is  known  the  better.  The  former  may  now  be 
controlled,  but  in  a  short  time  it  will  be  beyond  the  power  of 
men  to  arrest  the  course  of  events.  *  We 

love  and  cherish  the  Union,  we  remember  with  the  kindest  feel- 


154  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

ings  our  common  origin,  with  pride  our  common  achievements — 
and  fondly  anticipate  the  common  greatness  and  glory  that  seem 
to  await  us  ;  but  origin,  achievements  and  anticipations  of  com- 
ing greatness  are  to  us  as  nothing  compared  to  this  question.  It 
is  to  us  a  vital  question.  It  involves  not  only  our  liberty,  but 
what  is  greater,  (if,  to  freemen,  any  thing  can  be)  existence 
itself.  The  relation  which  now  exists  between  the  two  races  in 
the  slaveholding  States,  has  existed  tor  two  centuries.  It  has 
grown  with  our  growth,  and  strengthened  with  our  strength.  It 
has  entered  into  and  modified  all  our  institutions,  civil  and 
political.  None  other  can  be  substituted.  We  will  not — cannot 
permit  it  to  be  destroyed.  If  we  were  base  enough  to  do  so,  we 
would  be  traitors  to  our  section,  to  ourselves,  our  families,  and  to 
posterity.  It  is  our  anxious  desire  to  protect  and  preserve  this 
relation,  by  the  joint  action  of  this  Government,  and  the  con- 
federated States  of  the  Union ;  but  if,  instead  of  closing  the 
door, — if,  instead  of  denying  all  jurisdiction  and  all  interference 
in  this  question — the  doors  of  Congress  are  to  be  thrown  open  ; 
and  if  we  are  to  be  exposed  here,  in  the  heart  of  the  Union,  to 
an  endless  attack  on  our  rights,  our  character  and  institutions — 
if  the  other  States  are  to  stand  and  look  on  without  attempting 
to  suppress  these  attacks  originating  within  their  borders  ;  and, 
finally,  if  this  is  to  be  our  fixed  and  permanent  condition  as 
members  of  this  confederacy,  we  will  then  be  compelled  to  turn 
our  eyes  on  ourselves.  Come  what  will,  should  it  cost  every 
drop  of  blood,  and  every  cent  of  property,  we  must  defend  our- 
selves ;  and  if  compelled,  we  would  stand  justified  by  all  laws, 
I  „  human  and  divine.  *  *  *  *  *  **** 
"  If  we  do  not  defend  ourselves,  none  will  defend  us ;  if  we 
yield,  we  will  be  more  and  more  pressed  as  we  recede ;  and  if 
I  we  submit,  we  will  be  trampled  under  foot.  Be  assured  that 
I  emancipation  itself  would  not  satisfy  these  fanatics.  That 
I  gained,  the  next  step  would  be,  to  raise  the  negroes  to  a  social 
*""  and  political  equality  with  the  whites ;  and  that  being  effected, 
we  would  soon  find  the  present  condition  of  the  two  races 
reversed.  They,  and  their  Northern  allies,  would  be  the  mas- 
\      ters,  and  we  the  slaves.         *         *  *         *  *         *         * 

^-  "  There  is  but  one  way  to  defend  ourselves.  We  must  meet 
the  enemy  on  the  frontier — on  the  question  of  receiving ;  we 
must  secure  that  important  pass — it  is  our  Thermopylae.  The 
power  of  resistance,  by  an  universal  law  of  our  nature,  is  on  the 
exterior.  Break  through  the  shell — penetrate  the  crust,  and 
there  is  no  resistance  within.  In  the  present  contest,  the  ques- 
tion of  receiving  constitutes  our  frontier.  It  is  the  first,  the  exte- 
rior question ;  that  covers  and  protects  all  the  others.     Let  it  be 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  155 

penetrated  by  receiving  this  petition,  and  not  a  point  of  resis- 
tance can  be  found  within,  as  far  as  this  Government  is  con- 
cerned. If  we  cannot  maintain  ourselves  there,  we  cannot  on 
any  interior  position.  Of  all  the  questions  that  can  be  raised, 
there  is  not  one  on  which  we  can  rally  on  ground  more  tenable 
for  ourselves,  or  more  untenable  for  our  opponents,  not  excepting 
the  ultimate  question  of  abolition  in  the  States.  For  our  right 
to  reject  this  petition,  is  as  clear  and  unquestionable,  as  that 
Congress  has  no  right  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  States." 

Gentlemen,  fourteen  years  have  passed  since  the  Free-States, 
by  the  presentation  of  abolition  petitions,  first  evinced  their  in- 
tention to  interfere  with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  South. 
Fourteen  years  have  now  shed  their  light  on  the  predictions, 
warnings,  and  policy  of  Mr.  Calhoun.  His  predictions  have 
been  fulfilled,  his  warnings  realized,  and  his  course  sustained. 
It  may  be  a  question  of  doubt  whether,  after  the  triumph  of 
consolidation  in  the  Tariff  Act  of  1828,  and  the  Force-Bill, 
the  Union  could  possibly  have  been  preserved,  or  was,  indeed, 
worth  preserving,  with  its  warped  and  vicious  tendencies ;  for 
interference  with  the  subject  of  slavery  inevitably  followed. 
But  if  the  Union  could  have  been  preserved,  there  was  one,  and 
but  one  way  of  saving  it — by  shutting  out  the  subject  of  slavery 
from  the  halls  of  Congress.  The  21st.  Rule  excluded  abolition 
petitions  from  the  consideration  of  Congress.  It  was  the  only  s 
expedient  by  which  the  South  could  be  protected  from  incendia- 
ry agitations.  And  upon  its  preservation  depended  Southern 
freedom  and  equality,  and  the  continuance  of  the  Union.  It 
was,  as  Mr.  Calhoun  said,  our  frontier — the  Thermopylae  of 
the  South.  And  the  determination  of  the  North  to  overleap  its 
barriers,  was  only  proof  of  the  necessity  of  its  continuance,  and 
of  the  rising  and  presumptuous  spirit  of  abolition.  This  deter- 
mination should  have  been  met  by  a  determination  equally 
strong  on  the  part  of  the  South,  to  dissolve  the  Union  the 
instant  of  its  abrogation.  If,  at  this  early  stage  of  the  con- 
troversy, five  States,  nay  two  States,  of  the  South,  had  instructed 
their  Representatives  to  withdraw  from  Congress  immediately 
on  such  an  exigency,  the  Rule  would  have  remained  to  this  day  ; 
or  if  repealed,  and  the  Union  in  consequence  had  been  dissolved) 


156  MR.RHETT'S  ORATION. 

the  result  would  have  been,  new  guaranties  under  a  re-Union, 
which  would  have  assured  to  the  South  permanent  equality  and 
respect.  But  after  the  21st  Rule  was  repealed  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  the  South  had  tamely  submitted,  "it  was 
beyond  the  power  of  man  to  arrest  the  course  of  events."  The 
only  alternatives  left  to  the  South  were,  an  abolition  government, 
or  a  dissolution  of  the  Union.  Things  have  not  since  changed. 
The  same  alternatives  now  remain  before  us.  They  have  only 
gone  on  to  their  maturer  developement. 

The  emancipation  of  the  slaves  in  the  British  West  India 
Islands  gave  a  powerful  stimulus  to  anti-slavery  fanaticism  in 
the  Free  States  of  the  Union.  England,  in  this,  followed  France. 
She  had  set  the  example,  when  in  the  drunken  and  bloody 
saturnalia  of  her  first  Revolution,  she  liberated  the  slaves  of  St. 
Domingo.  And  what  were  the  results  of  that  first  liberation  of 
the  African  slave  ?  What  encouragement  to  pursue  this  policy 
was  afforded  by  that  experiment  to  other  nations  1  Under  negro 
dominion,  the  exports  of  the  Island  fell,  in  forty  years,  from 
20,000,000,  annually,  to  2,000,000.  The  culture  of  sugar  was 
abandoned ;  and  the  chief  source  of  commerce  remaining,  was 
the  coffee  gathered  from  the  spontaneous  production  of  the 
ground,  in  places  where  old  plantations  formerly  stood.  Igno- 
rance and  superstition,  and  a  barbarism  truly  African,  settled 
over  the  Queen  Island  of  the  Antilles.  England  saw  the  result, 
and  yet  despite  experience,  borne  away  by  fanaticism,  incredu- 
lous of  the  real  character  of  the  negro,  determined  to  make  her- 
self the  experiment  of  negro  emancipation.  The  dogma,  that 
free-labour  is  more  profitable  than  slave-labour — because  a  man 
will  work  more  for  himself  than  for  another — is  true  of  the  Anglo 
Saxon  race.  The  British  statesmen  supposed  it  would  be  true 
of  the  negro  also.  They  anticipated  increased  production  from 
the  West  India  Islands,  and,  consequently,  cheaper  supplies  to 
British  subjects  and  to  the  world,  of  all  the  tropical  productions. 
These,  in  all  ages,  have  been  the  chief  resource  and  instruments 
of  commerce ;  because  most  contributing  to  the  necessities  and 
comforts  of  man. 


MR.RHETT'S  ORATION.  157 

In  the  midst  of  the  experiment,  three  vessels,  with  slaves  on 
board,  were  driven,  by  stress  of  weather,  at  different  times,  from 
the  coast  of  the  United  States  into  British  West  India  Ports. 
The  slaves  were  taken  forcibly  out  of  the  vessels,  and  were  eman- 
cipated. The  Government  of  the  United  States  required  com- 
pensation for  the  negroes  thus  liberated.  In  the  case  of  two  of 
the  vessels,  the  demand  was  granted,  because  the  apprentice 
system,  preparatory  to  entire  emancipation  in  the  British  West 
India  Islands,  had  not  terminated.  But  it  was  refused  in  the 
case  of  the  third — the  Enterprise — because,  at  the  time  she  enter- 
ed the  British  port,  slavery  had  been  abolished  by  law.  In  this 
decision  of  the  British  Government,  the  administration  of  Mr. 
Yan  Buren  acquiesced.  But  Mr.  Calhoun  was  not  satisfied. 
He  saw  that  acquiesence  had  the  effect  of  throwing  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery  without  the  pale  of  the  laws  of  nations.  All 
other  property  was  deemed  inviolable,  was  sacredly  protected 
from  interference,  when  driven  by  the  act  of  God  into  a  friendly 
port.  And  if  slaves  were  to  be  excepted,  they  were  excepted 
only  because,  by  the  laws  of  nations,  they  are  not  property. 
He,  therefore,  moved  Resolutions  in  the  Senate,  asserting  the 
true  doctrine  on  this  point,  and  maintained  them  by  a  most  able 
speech.  The  speech  was  unanswered  ;  the  resolutions  passed 
the  Senate  ;  and  in  the  negotiations  of  the  Treaty  of  Washing- 
ton, assurances  were  given  by  the  British  negotiator,  that  out- 
rages of  this  kind  should  never  be  repeated.  They  have  never 
been  repeated. 

A  few  years  passed  by,  and  in  the  British  West  India  Islands 
the  practical  effects  of  emancipation  became  visible.  They,  too, 
took  the  downward  course  of  St.  Domingo ;  and  instead  of  in- 
creased supplies  of  the  tropical  productions  by  African  free  labor, 
a  rapid  decline  in  all  productions  whatsoever,  characterize  the 
daily  retrogression  of  the  negro,  to  his  condition  in  his  native 
jungle.  Great  Britain  awakes  from  her  dream  of  independence. 
As  her  West  Indies  decline  in  exports,  she  sees  herself  more  and 
more  dependent  on  Brazil,  Cuba  and  the  United  States  for  their 
slave-grown  produce.     What  course  shall  she  pursue  to  retrieve 


/ph 


158  MR.RHETT'S  ORATION. 

her  folly?  Controlling  in  any  way  the  tropical  productions,  she 
would  achieve  her  own  independence  and  control  the  commerce 
of  the  world.  And  how  can  this  be  done  ?  Abolish  slavery  in 
Brazil,  Cuba  and  the  United  States — let  negro  indolence  and 
barbarism  prevail  over  these  regions,  as  in  Hayti  and  her  own 
West  Indies;  and  the  East  Indies,  under  her  direction,  would 
become  the  only  source  of  supplying  the  world  with  the  produce 
of  the  tropics.  This  is  the  only  clue  (giving  the  politicians  of 
England  credit  for  statesmanship)  to  their  policy  in  striving  to  ex- 
tend emancipation  over  Texas,  and  to  keep  her  out  of  the  Union. 
There  is  no  statesmanship  in  fanaticism.     Fanaticism  is  feebler 


I  reason,  mastered  by  a  stronger  imagination  or  passion.  Its  mists, 
if  any  had  obscured  the  vision  of  British  statesmen,  must  have 
been  dispelled  when  they  repealed  the  duties  in  favor  of  their 
West  India  colonies,  and  against  slave-grown  productions. 

Mr.  Calhoun  saw  through  this  policy :  Texas  became  neces- 
sary to  the  safety  of  the  South — as  necessary  then,  as  California 
and  New  Mexico  are  now — to  prevent  the  circumscribing  and 
hemming-in  of  the  South,  by  free  States,  hostile  to  her  institu- 
tions. With  a  view  to  the  protection  of  the  South  on  this  great 
subject,  he  left  his  retirement,  and  accepted  the  appointment  of 
Secretary  of  State,  tendered  him  by  President  Tyler,  and  unani- 
mously confirmed  by  the  Senate,  without  a  reference.  He  made 
a  treaty,  admitting  Texas  into  the  Union.  It  failed  in  the  Sen- 
ate ;  but  the  discussion  awakened  at  the  rejection  of  the  treaty, 
had  entered  into  the  popular  mind ;  and  to  enlighten  it  still  fur- 
ther, Mr.  Calhoun  wrote  that  admirable  dispatch  to  Mr.  King, 
our  Minister  to  Prance.  Here  he  exposed  the  designs  of  Eng- 
land, exhibiting  the  true  bearing  of  the  annexation  of  Texas 
upon  other  nations.  To  this  dispatch,  perhaps,  more  than  to 
any  other  cause,  we  may  attribute  the  final  success  of  the  meas- 
ure. It  lifted  the  question  above  mere  sectional  considerations, 
and  gave  it  an  aspect  entirely  new.  Shall  we  be  dependent  on 
England,  or  England  on  us  ?  shall  England  or  shall  the  United 
States  control  the  commerce  of  the  world?  Such  views  operated 
powerfully  all  over  the  country,  but  especially  in  the  South,  whose 


MR.RHETT'S  ORATION.  159 

ruin  was  essential  to  the  success  of  the  British  scheme.  At  the 
next  Congress,  the  measure  of  annexing  Texas  was  again  brought 
forward,  and  was  carried.  In  gaining  this  great  victory  for  the 
South,  many  able  men  co-operated.  It  may  not  be  just  to  them 
to  say,  as  was  alleged  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  that  Mr.  Calhoun 
was  the  author  of  this  annexation :  it  is,  however,  safe  to  affirm, 
that,  but  for  Mr.  Calhoun,  Texas  would  never  have  been  a  part 
of  the  Union. 

This  measure  being  happily  concluded,  it  was  thought  by 
many  that  the  institution  of  slavery  was  secure  from  the  inter- 
vention of  northern  fanatics  at  home,  or  of  foreign  nations  abroad. 
It  proved,  however,  to  be  but  another  step  in  the  progress  of  things, 
making  up  for  the  South  the  grand  alternative  of  Abolition  or  Dis- 
union. 

Out  of  the  annexation  of  Texas  sprung  the  Mexican  War. 
Mr.  Calhoun  perceived  that  a  war  with  Mexico  would  jeopard 
all  advantages  the  South  had  just  won  by  the  acquisition  of 
Texas.  At  its  very  commencement,  the  North  declared  their 
intention  to  appropriate  all  territory  that  might  be  acquired  from 
Mexico,  by  either  conquest  or  treaty.  Those  who  believed  that 
the  General  Government  was  irreformable — that  nothing  could 
arrest  its  downward  progress  to  consolidation — that  it  was  irre- 
trievably gone  under  the  dominion  of  the  Free  States,  and  that 
the  South  would  have  sooner  or  later  to  seek  safety  from  the 
dangers  and  oppressions  it  would  spread  over  them,  in  a  disso- 
lution of  the  Union,  were  not  at  all  alarmed  at  such  declarations. 
Their  fulfilment  would  only  force  on  that  issue  between  the  free 
and  slave  States  which  must  come,  and  which  every  considera- 
tion of  policy  on  the  part  of  the  slave  States  required  should  be 
speedily  determined.  But  Mr.  Calhoun  had  no  sympathy  with 
views  like  these.  He  loved  the  Union  for  itself.  He  loved  it, 
because  it  had  been  the  object  of  his  great  and  patriotic  labors — 
the  theatre  of  all  his  achievements.  The  South  he  loved  more : 
"There  he  had  garnered  up  his  heart,  where  either  he  must  live 
or  bear  no  life."  And  the  dread  alternative  of  choosing  between 
them,  he  could  not  contemplate  without  grief  and  alarm.    To 


160  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

save  both,  he  opposed  the  Mexican  War.  He  opposed  it  in  its  in- 
ception, as  unnecessary — in  its  continuance,  as  boding  only  evil. 
"Every  Senator  knows,"  said  he,  in  one  of  his  speeches  during 
the  war,  "  that  I  was  opposed  to  the  war ;  but  none  knows  but 
myself  the  depth  of  that  opposition.  With  my  conceptions  of  its 
character  and  consequences^  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  vote  for 
it.  When,  accordingly,  I  was  deserted  by  every  friend  on  this 
side  the  House,  including  my  then  honorable  colleague  among 
the  rest,  (Mr.  McDuffie.)  I  was  not  shaken  in  the  least  degree 
in  reference  to  my  course.  On  the  passage  of  the  Act  recogniz- 
ing the  war,  I  said,  to  many  of  my  friends,  that  a  deed  had  been 
done  from  which  the  country  would  not  be  able  to  recover  for  a 
long  time,  if  ever;"  and  added,  "it  has  dropped  a  curtain  between 
the  present  and  the  future,  which  to  me  is  impenetrable ;  and  for 
the  first  time  in  my  life,  I  am  unable  to  see  the  future."  He  also 
added,  "  that  it  has  closed  the  first  volume  of  our  political  his- 
tory under  the  Constitution,  and  opened  the  second;  and  that  no 
mortal  could  tell  what  would  be  written  in  it." 

How  majestic  his  solitary  position  in  the  Senate  on  this  occa- 
sion !  How  sad  his  prophetic  forebodings !  The  curtain  is  lift- 
ing, and  the  hideous  features  of  triumphant  Abolition  are  scowl- 
ing behind  it.  The  new  volume  of  our  political  history  is  opened, 
and  Revolution  is  written  on  its  pages ;  revolution,  by  consolida- 
tion— or  revolution,  by  disunion.  His  speech  on  the  Three  Mill- 
ion Bill  showed  from  whence  the  darkness  rose  which  obscured 
his  mental  vision. 

"But  there  is,"  he  said,  "a  still  deeper,  a  still  more  terrific  diffi- 
culty to  be  met — a  difficulty  more  vital  than  those  to  which  I 
have  alluded — a  difficulty  arising  out  of  a  division  of  sentiment, 
which  went  to  the  very  foundation  of  our  Government.  How 
should  these  lands  be  disposed  of,  if  any  were  acquired?  To 
whose  benefit  should  they  accrue?  Should  they  accrue  to  the 
exclusive  benefit  of  one  portion  of  the  Union  ?  We  were  told, 
and  he  was  fearful  that  appearances  too  well  justified  the  asser- 
tion, that  all  parties  in  the  non-slaveholding  portion  of  the  Union 
insisted  that  they  should  have  the  exclusive  control  of  this  ac- 
quired territory — that  such  provision  should  be  made  as  should 
exclude  those  who  were  interested  in  the  institutions  of  the  South 
from  a  participation  in  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  the 
application  of  those  institutions  to  the  territory  thus  acquired. 

"Sir,  if  the  non-slaveholding  States,  having  no  other  interest 
in  the  question  excepting  their  aversion  to  slavery— if  they  can 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  161 

come  to  this  conclusion,  with  no  interest  in  the  matter  but  this,  I 
turn  and  ask  gentlemen  what  must  be  the  feeling  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  slaveholding  States,  who  are  to  be  deprived  of  their 
constitutional  rights,  and  despoiled  of  the  property  belonging  to 
them — assailed  in  the  most  vulnerable  point  (for  to  them  this 
question  was  a  question  of  safety,  of  self-preservation,  and  not  a 
mere  question  of  policy) :  and  thus  to  be  despoiled  by  those  who 
were  not  concerned  ?  If  there  were  sternness  and  determination 
on  one  side,  they  might  be  assured  there  would  be  on  the  other." 

But  not  content  with  expressing  his  opinions  on  the  Three 
Million  Bill,  Mr.  Calhoun  afterwards  offered  a  series  of  resolu- 
tions on  this  "  still  more  terrific  difficulty,"  affirming  the  equal 
constitutional  rights  of  the  States  to  any  territory  which  may  be 
acquired  by  the  war.  These  resolutions  he  supported  by  a 
speech,  which  concluded  in  the  following  strain : 

"  I  see  my  way  in  the  Constitution.  I  cannot  in  any  compro- 
mise. A  compromise  is  but  an  act  of  Congress.  It  may  be  over- 
ruled at  any  time.  It  gives  us  no  security.  But  the  Constitution 
is  stable.  It  is  a  rock.  On  it  we  can  stand.  It  is  a  firm  and 
stable  ground,  on  which  we  can  better  stand  in  opposition  to 
fanaticism  than  on  the  shifting  sands  of  compromise.  Let  us  be 
done  with  compromises.  Let  us  go  back  and  stand  upon  the 
Constitution ! 

"Well,  sir,  what  if  the  decision  of  this  body  shall  deny  us  this 
high  constitutional  right,  not  the  less  clear  because  deduced  from 
the  whole  body  of  the  instrument,  and  the  nature  of  the  subject 
to  which  it  relates  ?  What,  then,  is  the  question  1  I  will  not 
undertake  to  decide.  It  is  a  question  for  our  constituents — the 
slaveholding  States — a  solemn  and  a  great  question.  If  the  de- 
cision should  be  adverse,  I  trust  and  do  believe  that  they  will 
take  under  solemn  consideration  what  they  ought  to  do.  I  give 
no  advice.  It  would  be  hazardous  and  dangerous  for  me  to  do 
so.  But  I  may  speak  as  an  individual  member  of  that  section 
of  the  Union.  There  I  drew  my  first  breath.  There  are  all  my 
hopes.  There  are  my  family  and  connections.  I  am  a  planter 
— a  cotton  planter.  I  am  a  southern  man,  and  a  slaveholder — a 
kind  and  merciful  one,  I  trust — and  none  the  worse  for  being  a 
slaveholder.  I  say,  for  one,  I  would  rather  meet  any  extremity 
on  earthy  than  give  up  one  inch  of  our  equality — one  inch  of 
what  belongs  to  us,  as  members  of  this  great  Republic.  What ! 
acknowledge  inferiority?  The  surrender  of  life  is  nothing  to 
sinking  down  into  acknowledged  inferiority. 

"  I  have  examined  this  subject  largely — widely.     I  think  I  see 
the  future,  if  we  do  not  stand  up  as  we  ought.     In  my  humble 
11 


162  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

opinion  in  that  case,  the  condition  of  Ireland  is  prosperous  and 
happy — the  condition  of  Hindostan  is  prosperous  and  happy — 
the  condition  of  Jamaica  is  prosperous  and  happy,  to  what  the 
southern  States  will  be,  if  they  should  not  now  stand  up  man- 
fully in  defence  of  their  rights." 

The  war  continued ;  and  the  year  after,  was  closed.  The 
" terrific  difficulty"  came.  We  acquired  an  immense  extent  of 
territory  from  Mexico,  and  the  free  States  manifested  the  deter- 
mination of  excluding  the  slave  States,  and  of  taking  the  whole 
of  it  for  themselves.  A  caucus  of  the  southern  representatives 
in  Congress  assembled  in  the  Senate  Chamber.  The  result  of 
their  counsels  was,  an  Address  to  the  people  of  the  southern 
States,  written  by  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  signed  by  a  large  portion 
of  the  southern  representatives.  It  contained  nothing  but  a  sim- 
ple statement  of  facts — the  more  powerful,  from  its  very  simpli- 
city. At  that  session  all  efforts  at  compromise  were  defeated  by 
the  free  States,  in  combination  with  a  few  southern  representa- 
tives. It  was  clear  that  the  free  States  would  be  content  with 
nothing  short  of  the  total  exclusion  of  the  southern  States  from 
all  our  territories.  Mr.  Calhoun's  health,  long  feeble,  now  gave 
manifest  signs  of  a  sure  decline.  He  fainted  three  times  during 
the  session,  in  the  lobby  of  the  Senate — worn  out  by  anxiety  and 
working — but  working  on  still.  On  one  of  these  occasions  I 
heard  that  he  had  fallen,  and  had  been  borne  into  the  Yice 
President's  room.  I  hastened  to  him,  and  found  him  sitting  on 
a  sofa  by  the  fireside,  with  his  coat  and  waistcoat  off.  It  was  a 
cold,  bitter  day.  As  I  approached  him,  he  said,  extending  his 
hand — "  Ah  !  Mr.  Rhett,  my  career  is  nearly  done.  The  great 
battle  must  be  fought  by  you  younger  men."  "I  hope  not.  sir," 
was  my  reply — "  for  never  was  your  life  more  precious,  or  your 
counsels  more  needed  for  the  guidance  and  salvation  of  the 
South."  He  answered — "there,  indeed,  is  my  only  regret  at 
going — the  South — the  poor  South !"  and  his  eyes  filled  with 
tears,  I  entreated  him  to  put  on  his  clothes.  "  I  cannot,"  he 
said — "I  am  burning  up — wait  until  I  am  cool."  He  was  burn- 
ing up — burning  up  by  the  internal  fire  of  his  own  intense  spirit, 
fed  by  ever  restless  anxieties  for  the  Union,  and  his  own,  his  be- 
loved South.    At  the  earnest  remonstrances  of  friends,  he  kept 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  163 

out  of  the  Senate  Chamber,  and  his  health  seemed  to  improve 
towards  the  close  of  this  session ;  but  few  expected  to  see  him 
again  in  Washington.  They  did  not  know  the  man — how  self- 
abandoned  was  his  sense  of  duty — how  insignificant  was  health 
or  life,  where  the  safety  or  honor  of  the  South  or  his  native  State 
was  concerned.  He  believed — and  believed  truly,  that  the  next 
session  of  Congress  would  settle — and  settle  forever,  for  good  or 
evil,  the  destiny  of  the  Union  and  the  South. 

To  have  strength  enough  to  reach  Washington  at  the  opening 
of  Congress,  and  to  be  there — was  a  necessary  sequence  in  the 
nature  of  things.  But  he  was  soon  driven  to  his  chamber,  by 
the  stern  hand  of  approaching  death.  With  his  mind  and  heart 
labouring  and  full  with  the  portentous  issues  before  the  country, 
he  wrote  in  his  sick  chamber  that  last  effort  of  his  great  mind — 
his  last  speech — that  master-piece  of  lucid  logic,  calm  wisdom 
and  noble  patriotism,  which  we — we,  his  countrymen,  for  whom 
he  lived  and  died,  "will  not  willingly  let  die."  Tablets  of  brass 
or  marble,  on  which  it  may  be  recorded,  may  fail ;  but  it  shall 
not  fail  in  its  effects.  It  shall  live  forever,  in  the  redeemed 
honour  and  liberties  of  the  South.  It  was  the  last  flash  of  the 
sun,  to  show  the  ship  of  State  her  only  port  of  safety,  as  darkness 
and  the  howling  tempest  closed  around  her.  He  died — for  his 
work  was  done.  If  the  South  would  not  heed  his  warnings  and 
counsels,  why  should  he  live  ?  But  if  she  regarded  them — and 
would  more  regard  them,  when  uttered  by  his  dying  lips — why 
should  he  not  die?  His  work  was  done.  Yet  he  wished  for 
one  more  hour  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  ere  he  departed.  What 
longed  he  to  utter  there  ?  Had  his  mighty  spirit  devised  some 
new  way  to  save  the  Union,  consistent  with  the  liberties  of  the 
South  ?  Or  did  he  wish  to  utter  there  that  word  which  all  his 
lifetime  he  could  not  speak,  although  wrong  and  oppression  tor- 
tured him — that  word,  which  dying  despair  could  alone  wring 
from  his  aching  heart — disunion  ! !  The  secret  counsels  of  that 
longed-for  hour,  he  was  not  permitted  to  disclose,  and  they  lie 
buried  with  him  in  his  grave ;  but  he  had  said  enough  for  duty 
. — enough  for  liberty  and  honour — enough  for  our  salvation.  If 
we  will  not  heed  his  warnings,  and  follow  the  counsels  he  has 


1 


164  MR.RHETT'S  ORATION. 

left  us,  neither  would  we  be  persuaded,  though  he  arose  from 
the  dead. 

Gentlemen : — The  character  of  Mr.  Calhoun  has  been  drawn 
by  a  hundred  pens,  which,  although  differing  in  their  colouring, 
agree  in  the  grand  features  which  composed  it.  As  a  States- 
man, he  will  be  estimated  in  our  day  according  to  party  affinities. 
He  stood  too  often  above  the  two  great  parties  of  the  country, 
not  to  be  hated  by  the  party  bigots  of  both  ;  but  the  time  will 
come,  perhaps  is  near  at  hand,  when  the  passions  and  prejudices 
which  party  awakens,  will  be  allayed — when  events  will  have 
tested  the  wisdom  of  his  counsels,  and  the  correctness  of  his 
principles, — and  history,  with  her  iron  pen,  will  engrave  on  her 
imperishable  tablets,  the  true  character  of  his  statesmanship. 
She  will,  probably,  record  that,  as  a  practical  Statesman,  his 
great  defect  was,  that  he  pursued  principles  too  exclusively. 
Principles  are  unerring ;  but  in  their  practice  and  application  in 
the  affairs  of  Government,  we  have  to  deal  with  erring  man. 
Hence,  the  necessity  often  of  qualification.  Hence,  too,  the  ne- 
cessity, in  public  life,  of  address  on  the  part  of  a  great  political 
leader  to  obtain  success  in  the  controul  and  governance  of  men — 
kindness  towards  their  dissent — patience  with  their  errors — and 
a  boundless  charity.  Mr.  Calhoun  sunk  himself  too  much, 
and  put  his  principles  too  high,  in  his  personal  relations.  If  this 
feature  of  his  character  made  him,  apparently,  too  easily  part 
with  friends,  it  made  him,  also,  the  most  placable  of  foes.  No 
matter  what  had  been  his  former  personal  relations,  he  could  co- 
operate with  any  one  in  pursuing  any  policy  he  thought  the  in- 
terest of  the  country  required.  The  politics  of  some  men  are 
made  by  their  associations  and  friendships — the  politics  of  others 
are  controlled  by  their  enmities.  Mr.  Calhoun  was  above  all 
personal  influences.  The  good  of  his  country,  according  to 
those  great  principles  he  had  wrought  out,  appeared  to  govern 
his  whole  political  course.  This  peculiarity  made  him  a  great 
Statesman  ;  but  he  was  not  a  great  party-leader.  He  understood 
principles — he  understood  how  they  should  be  enforced — but  he 
did  not  understand  how  best  to  controul  and  use,  for  their  en- 
forcement, that  compound  of  truth  and  error — reason  and  preju- 
dice— passion  and  weakness — man.     To  this  cause,  perhaps, 


MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION.  165 

more  than  to  any  other,  it  may  be  attributed  that,  although  the 
head  of  his  party  in  creating  and  elaborating  its  principles,  he 
never  obtained  the  highest  office  it  could  bestow.  If  he  sought 
this  highest  office — he  sought  it  and  would  have  accepted  it, 
only  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  his  principles.  Conscious  of 
his  pure  intents  and  mighty  powers,  he  believed  that  if  he  had 
the  controul  of  the  administration  of  the  Government,  he  could 
keep  it  within  the  prescribed  limits  of  the  Constitution,  and  save 
and  perpetuate  the  Union.  But  could  he,  could  any  man, 
however  great,  popular,  and  just,  have  arrested  the  onward 
march  of  consolidation,  under  the  unscrupulous  ambition,  fana- 
ticism, and  avarice  of  the  Free  States  ?  Aristotle,  Locke,  Syd- 
ney, Russell,  Hume,  were  theoretical  Statesmen.  Pericles, 
Walpole,  Chatham,  Fox,  Peel,  were  practical  Statesmen.  Burke 
was  both  a  theoretical  and  a  practical  Statesman — and  the  great- 
est in  the  combination  of  all  the  qualifications  of  states- 
manship England  has  ever  produced.  But,  unfortunately,  he 
lived  at  a  time,  and  amidst  circumstances,  which  induced  him 
to  lean  on  the  side  of  order,  privilege  and  government,  rather 
than  that  of  liberty.  Mr.  Calhoun,  although  his  inferior  in  cul- 
tivation and  in  the  gorgeous  splendour  of  his  imagination — was 
not  his  inferior  in  naked  reasoning,  deep  analysis,  and  a  profound 
knowledge  of  the  principles  of  free  Government.  The  one  had 
the  British  Constitution,  with  all  its  anomilies  and  abuses,  to  de- 
fend— the  other,  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  in  its 
federative  and  free  principles,  (the  most  wonderful  political  pro- 
duction of  the  world)  to  elucidate  and  enforce.  Burke  exhibited 
a  more  beautiful  efflorescence — but  Calhoun  the  soundest  fruit. 
In  theoretic  statesmanship,  Aristotle,  from  amongst  the  ancients, 
will,  probably,  alone  stand  beside  him ;  but  as  a  practical  states- 
man, many,  both  in  ancient  and  modern  times,  may  rank  above 
him  ;  because  he  failed  in  enforcing  his  policy.  But  he  did  not 
look  to  his  personal  success,  nor  to  the  practical  enforcement  of 
his  policy,  as  the  measure  of  his  fame.  He  looked  to  future 
ages ;  and  trusting  to  the  improvement  of  men  in  civilization, 
and  the  extension  of  free  Governments,  he  anticipated  the  happy 
period,  when  the  liberties  of  the  world,  in  a  thousand  Republics, 
would  rest  on  the  mighty  foundations  his  genius  had  wrought 


166  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

out  and  laid  down  for  their  erection  and  eternal  duration.  Turn- 
ing to  the  immortality  before  us  in  our  after  life,  the  remem- 
brance of  us  by  the  world  we  must  soon  leave,  may  be  of  very 
little  moment.  This  is  the  voice  of  reason.  And  yet,  there  is  a 
yearning  for  a  name  amongst  future  generations — there  is  a 
thirst  to  live  with  them,  by  the  blessings  we  may  impart,  which 
has  nerved  the  noblest  minds  to  the  noblest  efforts  and  sacrifices. 
It  was  from  this  yearning  on  earth  after  a  glorious  immortality, 
that  the  ancient  philosopher  inferred  the  soul's  immortality  in  an 
after  life.  Mr.  Calhoun,  doubtless,  believed  the  great  principles 
of  free  government  he  originated  and  advocated,  to  be  as  eternal 
as  truth  itself,  and  as  lasting  as  man ;  and  was  he  not  animated, 
too,  with  the  inspiring  hope,  that  his  name  would  live  with  them 
in  all  after  ages  ?  Thousands  of  generous  spirits,  since  the  en- 
trance of  civilized  man  on  this  continent,  have  lived  and  died 
with  the  hope  of  a  prolonged  fame  amongst  future  generations ; 
but  I  can  discover  but  two  men  who  will  probably  obtain  this 
fame — Washington  and  Calhoun — the  former,  as  the  founder 
of  a  great  Republic — the  latter,  as  the  discoverer  of  the  true 
principles  of  free  government.  The  political  knaves  and  charla- 
tans of  our  day,  who  have  overturned  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  with  all  its  beautiful  proportions,  and  wonderful 
contrivances  for  the  perpetuation  of  liberty,  will  only  be  remem- 
bered, if  remembered  at  all,  amongst  the  vulgar  herd  who  have 
cursed  their  generation  by  their  faithless  fanaticism,  avarice  or 
ambition. 

Mr.  Calhoun's  mind,  in  its  characteristics,  was  as  striking 
as  it  was  great.  It  stood  forth  like  the  Egyptian  Pyramids — 
vast,  simple,  and  grand.  It  was  essentially  Southern,  with  none 
of  that  affectation,  pretension  and  glitter  about  it,  which  deforms 
the  literature  and  oratory  of  the  Northern  people.  Meritricious 
ornament  was  as  unsuitable  to  it  as  verdure  on  the  top  of  the 
highest  Andes.  No  flowers  grew  on  the  banks  of  the  mighty 
river  of  his  thoughts,  as  it  broke  its  way  through  mountains, 
and  left  rocks  and  gigantic  cliffs  beetling  over  it.  Yet  there  is 
an  earnestness  and  elevation  in  his  language,  which  bears  the 
mind  on,  as  if  on  a  swift,  deep  current.  His  close,  compact  and 
impregnable  logic,  moved  with  the  precision  and  measured  tread 
of  a  Spartan  phalanx,     gtone  upon  stone,  he  reared  the  pilejDf^ 


MR.RHETT'S  ORATION.  167 

his  fair  argument,  until  at  length  it  stood  a  lofty  temple,  with  its 
steeples  and  domes  looking  up  to  heaven,  and  bathed  in  the 
light  of  "eternal  truth.  If  he  failed  to  convince,  (for  conviction 
is  not  always  uie  result  of  reason)  he  never  failed  to  elicit  admi- 
ration or  wonder  at  the  expositions  of  his  intellect.  In  debate, 
he  was  collected  and  deliberate,  but  when  warmed  in  argument, 
he  looked  the  embodiment  of  fiery  thought.  In  conversation,  he 
failed — that  is,  he  failed  for  such  a  mind — because  his  conversa- 
tion was  reasoning.  Conversation  in  society  is  not  sought  for 
the  purpose  of  business  or  instruction ;  still  less,  for  the  exercise 
of  logical  reasoning.  It  is  rather  sought,  to  play  with,  or  to 
banish  thought,  than  to  excite  it.  Amusement — intellectual 
amusement — the  amusement  which  wit  imparts,  or  the  affections 
excite,  are  the  great  objects  of  conversation.  Mr.  Calhoun, 
although  always  cheerful,  had  but  little  wit,  and  still  less  of  that 
acerbity  or  malignity  of  temper,  which  gives  wit  its  sharpest 
edge  and  deepest  interest  in  exposing  the  folly  or  weaknesses  of 
others.  He  discoursed,  rather  than  conversed ;  and  so  rapid  and 
forcible  were  his  thoughts,  that  his  hearers  listened  and  admired 
rather  than  replied,  for  comprehension  was  often  at  fault.  Young 
men,  especially,  delighted  to  look  down  into  his  intellect,  as  if 
hanging  over  the  deep  clear  lakes  of  Florida,  where  the  smallest 
pebbles   and   shells  are  seen  at  the  greatest  depths. 

But  the  crowning  glory  of  Mr.  Calhoun's  character  was  in  his 
private  life.  He  said  himself,  on  one  occasion  to  a  friend — "  I  have 
been  defamed  and  vilified  in  every  particular  but  in  my  private 
life ;  and  thank  God  !  there,  neither  envy,  malice,  nor  falseheod 
has  dared  to  assail  me."  When  the  sad  news  of  his  death  arrived, 
his  neighbors,  with  whom  he  had  lived  thirty  years,  with  one 
accord  assembled  together,  and  having  expressed  their  grief  at 
their  loss,  they  sent  a  deputation  to  request  that  his  body  may  be 
laid  amongst  them.  They  wished  to  cherish  the  sad  semblance 
of  still  being  near  him ;  and  to  bring  their  children  to  the  green 
sod  where  he  lay,  and  tell  them  of  the  simple-hearted  friend — 
the  good  counsellor — the  blessed  peace-maker — the  pure  and 
deathless  patriot,  whose  bosom  it  covers.  But  what  shall  we 
say  of  that  patience — that  purity — that  tenderness — with  which 


168  MR.  RHETT'S  ORATION. 

he  embraced  all  beneath  his  roof?  Shall  we  speak  of  those  do- 
mestic relations,  which  give  us  all  that  is  left  us  of  our  first 
estate  ;  and  whose  dissolution  by  the  hand  of  death,  there  is  but 
one  Physician  who  can  cure— there  is  but  one  balm  which  can 
heal  ?  Shall  we  enter  into  his  home,  where  bleeding  hearts  are 
still  mourning  his  absence  and  their  desolation, — and  tearful 
eyes  are  looking  at  those  places  which  once  knew  him,  but  shall 
now  know  him  no  more  forever  ?  No,  no  !— We  turn  away  in 
grief  for  them— in  grief  for  ourselves. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  I 
have  finished,  although  feebly  performed,  the  mournful  task 
assigned  me.  Our  last  honours  to  the  honoured  dead,  are  about 
to  close.  You  were  not  ungrateful  for  the  services  he  rendered 
you  ;  and  he  tried  to  repay  you  by  a  filial  devotion,  which  ceased 
only  with  life.  State  and  Statesman,  you  have  held  to  each 
other,  as  only  those  can  do,  who  esteem  and  love  one  ano- 
ther, without  doubt,  or  fear,  or  shame.  You  have  been  reproach- 
ed for  trusting  him  too  confidingly ;  and  he  has  been  reproached 
for  seeking  too  intensely  and  exclusively  your  interests  and  hon- 
our. Let  those  without  the  State,  blame  or  upbraid.  We  rejoice 
that  we  have  upheld  him,  as  we  have  done ;  and  now,  when  we 
can  no  longer  feel  his  mighty  arm  supporting  us,  we  would  not 
give  our  dead  statesman  for  all  the  living  statesmen  of  this 
broad  continent.  We  mourn  our  loss; — but  we  value  the  trea- 
sures his  life  and  intellect  have  left  us,  more  than  "  the  wealth 
of  Ormus  and  of  Ind."  We  mourn  our  loss; — but,  standing 
over  his  remains,  we  cannot  but  hate  the  tyranny  that  hurried 
him  to  his  grave, — and  love  the  liberty  for  which  he  lived,  and 
wasted,  and  died.  Cherishing  his  memory,  we  dare  not  be 
slaves.  Looking  to  his  example  and  precepts,  wemust  ancTwiir 
te  free.  If  his  home,  whilst  living,  was  sacred  to  purity  aniL 
honor,  his  last  resting  place  shall  not  be  polluted  by  the  foul 

!  footsteps  of  traitors  to  liberty.  And.  when  over  the  long  track 
of  ages  to  come,  the  star  oThis  genius  shall  still  shine  on,  to  lead 
the  nations  to  freedom, — it  shall  not  be  forgotten  that  South 
Carolina,  the  land  of  his  nativity,  reared  him — sustained  him — 
and  honoured  him  to  the  last. 


A^^^^^^^ 


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THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO  THE  PRESENT  CRISIS, 

■  A  SERMON. 


: 


ON    OCCASION   OF  jeflo 

m  •  RF 


THE  DEATH  OF  HON.  JOHN  C.   CALHOUN, 


PREACHED  IN  THE  CHAPEL 


OF  THE  SOUTH  CAROLINA  COLLEGE, 


APRIL,  21,  1850. 


15  Y 


JAMES  H.  THORNWELL, 

PROFESSOR  OF  SACRED  LITERATURE  AND  THE  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY.     ^ 


PUBLISHED    BY    THE    STUDENTS 


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COLUMBIA,  S.  C. 

PRINTED  BY  A.  S.  JOHNSTON. 


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THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO  THE  PRESENT  CRISIS, 

A  SERMON, 


ON    OCCASION    OF 


THE  DEATH  OF  HON.  JOHN  0.  CALHOUN, 


PREACHED  IN  THE  CHAPEL 


OF  THE  SOUTH  CAROLINA  COLLEGE, 


APRIL.  21,  18SO. 


BY 


JAMES  H.  THORNWELL, 

PROFESSOR  OF  SACRED  LITERATURE  AND  THE  EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


PUBLISHED   BY    THE    STUDENTS 


COLUMBIA,  S.  C. 

PRINTED  BY  A.  S.  JOHNSTON. 

1850. 


I  Library,  jj 

^^  Callforoia- 


"  Be  wise  noic,  therefore,  O  ye  kings ;  be  instructed,  ye  judges  of 
the  Earth;  serve  the  Lord  ivith  fear  and  rejoice  ivitli  trembling" — 
Psalm  ii.    10,   11. 

Three  weeks  ago  this  day,  as  the  first  bell  was  giving  us 
the  signal  to  prepare  for  assembling  ourselves  in  the  house 
of  God,  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  our  morning  homage 
to  the  Father  of  all  mercies,  a  spirit  endeared  to  us  by 
many  ties  was  winging  its  flight  to  the  eternal  world. 
That  bell  which  summoned  us  to  prayer  seems  to  have 
kept  time  with  his  expiring  breath — and  before  we  had 
gathered  ourselves  in  this  hall,  or  assumed  the  devout 
posture  of  worshippers,  South  Carolina's  honoured  son — 
and  one  of  America's  distinguished  statesmen,  was  num- 
bered with  the  dead.  On  the  wings  of  lightning  the 
sad  intelligence  was  borne  to  us.  The  feeling  of  every 
heart  was  that  a  great  man  had  fallen — and  perhaps  few 
were  so  hardened  as  not  to  acknowledge,  at  least  for  the 
moment,  that  in  this  death  there  was  a  message  of  God 
to  the  people,  the  councils  and  rulers  of  this  land.  Death, 
it  is  true,  is  no  rare  visiter  in  this  world  of  sin — and  a  re- 
fined skepticism  might  suggest  that,  as  there  was  nothing 
extraordinary  in  the  case  before  us,  of  an  old  man, 
enfeebled  by  disease  and  wasted  by  intellectual  toil,  sink- 
ing beneath  the  burden  of  infirmity  and  care — nothing 


4  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

extraordinary  in  the  nature  or  operations  of  the  malady 
which  brought  him  to  his  end,  that  we  should  undertake 
to  make  nothing  of  it  but  the  natural  operation  of  natural 
causes.  Some  may  complacently  tell  us  that  a  great  man 
has  sickened — a  great  man  has  died — a  star  has  been 
struck  from  the  firmament — and  its  light  is  lost.  We 
may  speculate  upon  the  probable  effects  of  the  phenome- 
non— as  we  speculate  upon  any  other  important  event — 
but  it  is  the  weakness  of  superstition  and  credulity  to  find 
in  it  any  immediate  interposition  of  God. 

Fortified  as  this  species  of  skepticism  may  be  by  a 
shallow  philosophy,  there  is  something  in  the  time  and 
circumstances  of  the  death  we  have  assembled  to  con- 
template, and  the  position  and  relations  of  the  distinguish- 
ed victim,  that  will  make  the  heart  play  truant  to  the 
head,  and  extort  the  confession  of  the  Egyptian  Magicians, 
that  the  finger  of  God  is  here.  Behold  the  time  !  Never 
in  the  annals  of  our  confederacy  has  there  been  a  more 
critical  period  than  this.  Never  has  a  Congress  met  un- 
der circumstances  so  full  of  moment  and  responsibility. 
Never  has  the  Senate  of  these  United  States  been  called 
to  deliberate  on  questions  so  solemn  and  eventful,  as  those 
which  were  before  it  when  our  Senator  received  the 
mandate  that  his  work  was  done.  To  my  mind  nothing 
less  than  the  problem  of  national  existence  is  involved  in 
the  issues  before  the  councils  of  our  country.  Shall  this 
Union,  consecrated  by  patriot  blood — founded  on  prin- 
ciples of  political  wisdom  which  the  world  has  wondered 
at  and  admired — and  which  has  conducted  us  to  a  pitch 
of  elevation  and  of  influence,  which  have  made  us  a  study 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  5 

among  the  philosophers  of  Europe,  shall  this  Union — which 
in  all  our  past  history  has  been  our  glory  and  defence,  be 
broken  up — and  the  confederated  States  of  this  repub- 
lick  left  to  float  upon  the  wide  sea  of  political  agitation 
and  disorder  1  The  magnitude  of  this  catastrophe  de- 
pends not  at  all  upon  the  shock  which  it  would  give  to 
our  most  cherished  sentiments — upon  breaking  up  the 
continuity  of  our  national  recollections  and  interrupting 
the  current  of  patriotic  emotion — though  this  deserves  to 
be  seriously  considered.  But  there  are  deeper,  more 
awful  consequences  involved.  To  suppose  that  this  con- 
federacy can  be  dissolved  without  cruel,  bloody,  ferocious 
war,  terminating  in  a  hatred  more  intense  than  any  which 
ever  yet  disgraced  the  annals  of  any  people — is  to  set  at 
defiance  all  the  lessons  of  history ;  and  to  suppose  that 
in  the  present  state  of  the  world — when  the  bottomless 
pit  seems  to  have  been  opened,  and  every  pestilential 
vapour  tainting  the  atmosphere — when  a  false  philosophy 
has  impregnated  the  whole  mass  of  the  people  abroad 
with  absurd  and  extravagant  notions  of  the  very  nature 
and  organization  of  society  and  the  true  ends  of  govern- 
ment— to  suppose  that  amid  this  chaos  of  opinion,  which 
has  cursed  the  recent  revolutions  of  Europe — we  could 
enter  upon  the  experiment  of  framing  new  constitutions 
without  danger,  is  to  arrogate  a  wisdom  to  ourselves  to 
which  the  progress  of  events,  in  some  sections  of  the  land, 
shows  we  are  not  entitled.  I  cannot  disguise  the  convic- 
tion that  the  dissolution  of  this  Union — as  a  political  ques- 
tion— is  the  most  momentous  which  can  be  proposed  in 
the  present  condition  of  the  world.     Consider  the  position 


6  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

and  influence  of  these  United  States.  -  To  say  that  this 
vast  republick  is,  under  God,  the  arbiter  of  the  destinies 
of  this  whole  continent,  that  it  is  for  us  to  shape  the 
character  of  all  America — that  our  laws — our  institutions 
— our  manners,  must  tell  upon  the  degenerate  nations  of 
the  South,  and  sooner  or  later  absorb  the  hardier  sons  of 
the  North,  is  to  take  too  contracted  a  view  of  the  sub- 
ject. With  the  Pacific  on  the  one  side  and  the  Atlantic 
on  the  other — we  seem  to  hold  the  nations  in  our  hands. 
With  one  arm  on  Europe  and  the  other  on  Asia,  it  is  for 
us  to  determine  the  political  condition  of  the  race  for 
ages  yet  to  come.  Our  geographical  position,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  inventions  of  modern  science  and  the  im- 
provements of  modern  enterprize,  makes  us  the  very 
heart  of  the  world.  Our  life  must  be  propelled  by  the 
oceans  which  engirdle  our  shores  through  every  country 
on  the  globe — the  beating  of  our  pulse  must  be  felt  in 
every  nation  of  the  earth.  We  stand,  indeed,  in  refer- 
ence to  free  institutions  and  the  progress  of  civilization, 
in  the  momentous  capacity  of  the  federal  representatives 
of  the  human  race. 

But  the  accomplishment  of  the  lofty  destiny  to  which 
our  position  evidently  calls  us,  depends  upon  Union  as 
well  as  Progression.  Our  glory  has  departed — the  spell 
is  broken — whenever  we  become  divided  among  our- 
selves. Ichabod  may  then  be  written  upon  our  walls, 
and  the  clock  of  the  world  will  be  put  back  for  genera- 
tions and  centuries.  What  a  question,  therefore,  is 
that — whether  we  shall  go  forward  in  that  career  on 
which  we  have  so  auspiciously  entered,  and  accomplish 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  7 

the  destiny  to  which  the  providence  of  God  seems  con- 
spicuously to  have  called  us — or  suffer  the  hopes  of  hu- 
manity to  be  crushed,  and  freedom  to  be  buried  in  eter- 
nal night.  It  is  not  extravagant  to  fancy  that  we  can 
see  the  unborn  millions  of  our  own  descendants  uniting 
with  countless  multitudes  of  the  friends  of  liberty  in  all 
climes,  in  fervent  supplications  to  the  American  Con- 
gress for  the  salvation  of  the  American  Union.  The  liber- 
ty of  the  world  is  at  stake.  The  American  Congress  is 
now  deliberating  upon  the  civil  destinies  of  mankind. 

But  the  interests  of  freedom  are  not  the  only  ones 
involved.  The  interests  of  religion  are  deeply  at  stake. 
To  Britain  and  America,  Protestant  Christianity  looks 
for  her  surest  friends,  and  her  most  zealous  and  perse- 
vering propagators.  With  the  dissolution  of  this  Union, 
all  our  schemes  of  Christian  benevolence  and  duty — 
our  efforts  to  convert  the  world — to  spread  the  knowl- 
edge of  Christianity  among  all  people,  and  to  translate 
the  Bible  into  all  languages,  must  be  suddenly  and 
violently  interrupted.  It  would  be  the  extinction  of  that 
light  which  is  beginning  to  dawn  upon  the  millions  of 
China — the  total  eclipse  of  that  star  of  hope  which  is 
beginning  to  rise  upon  the  isles  of  the  sea.  The  conse- 
quences, civil,  political,  religious,  which  would  result, 
not  simply  to  us,  but  to  mankind,  from  the  destruction  of 
this  glorious  confederacy,  cannot  be  contemplated  with- 
out horrour — and  make  the  present,  beyond  all  controver- 
sy, the  most  important  and  solemn  crisis  that  has  ever 
been  presented  in  the  history  of  our  country.  Such  was 
the  time.     Behold    now   the   man !     He  was  precisely 


8  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

the  individual  to  whom,  in  such  a  crisis,  his  own  State 
would  have  most  cheerfully  confided  her  destiny.  With 
an  understanding  distinguished  for  perspicacity — a  firm- 
ness equal  to  any  emergency — a  perseverance  absolutely 
indomitable — with  a  masterly  intellect  and  a  true  and 
faithful  heart,  the  South  looked  to  him  for  defence,  for 
protection,  for  guidance.  He  is  permitted  to  mingle  in 
the  councils  of  the  nation — utter  his  voice  with  one  foot 
in  the  grave — and  then  he  is  withdrawn  forever — with- 
drawn, too,  when  he  feels  hishead  clearer  and  his  prospect 
of  usefulness  brighter  than  it  had  ever  been  before. 
Why  at  this  time  is  his  voice  stilled  in  death  1  Why 
was  he  not  permitted  to  utter  those  last  words  which  lay 
upon  his  heart  1  Why,  when  the  highest  of  all  sublu- 
nary interests  was  at  stake,  was  one  of  our  purest  and 
brightest  Statesmen  refused  permission  to  continue  in  the 
conflict?  Surely  this  was  the  finger  of  God.  It  was  no 
casualty — it  was  no  accident  of  fortune — it  was  no  de- 
cree  of  destiny — it  was  the   act  of  the  Almighty. 

No  temper  is  more  constantly  commended  in  the  Scrip- 
tures than  devout  contemplation  of  the  events  of  Provi- 
dence. The  atheism  which  disregards  the  works  is  as 
severely  condemned  as  the  stupidity  which  despises  the 
word  of  God.  They  are  said  to  be  wise,  who  observe 
and  ponder  the  operation  of  His  hands — who  mark  His 
goings  forth  and  contemplate  His  paths  as  the  great 
moral  Ruler  of  the  universe.  They  are  wise  who  per- 
ceive in  Providence  its  wonderful  analogies  to  grace — 
who  feel  that  the  plans  and  purposes  and  principles  of 
the  Divine  government  are  stamped  to  some  extent  upon 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  9 

all  the  Divine  proceedings — that  the  moral,  natural  and 
physical,  all  harmonize  with  the  spiritual  and  eternal, 
and  that  the  events  which  are  constantly  taking  place 
around  them,  give  emphasis  and  illustration  to  the  truths 
of  revelation.  Beside  what  may  be  styled  the  natural 
history  of  the  universe,  its  stability  and  order,  its  unifor- 
mity and  proportion,  beside  the  operation  of  general 
laws  and  the  connections  and  dependencies  of  a  syste- 
matic whole,  there  is  a  secret  lore  which  the  good  man 
gathers  from  the  phenomena  of  nature— a  recognition 
of  God  in  His  moral  character,  dealing  with  His  moral 
and  responsible  creatures.  Death,  as  a  natural  event,  is 
one  thing — as  a  moral  phenomenon  another.  In  the  one 
aspect  we  may  speculate  upon  its  causes,  its  symptoms, 
its  effects.  We  may  discuss  fevers  and  coughs  and 
agues— talk  about  the  vital  organs,  and  make  a  consis- 
tent theory  of  physiology.  But  the  whole  train  of 
natural  events  which  physiology  discusses  and  which 
terminate  in  the  dissolution  of  the  frame,  must  be 
viewed  in  subordination  to  the  moral  government  of 
God,  in  order  to  be  properly  understood  and  duly 
appreciated.  It  is  in  this  aspect  that  the  contemplation 
of  Providence  becomes  a  matter  of  religious  wisdom, 
and  yields  lessons  for  the  improvement  of  the  heart  as 
well  as  the  instruction  of  the  head.  To  deny  the  agen- 
cy of  God,  because  events  are  brought  about  in  a  natural 
order,  which  is  to  make  the  uniformity  of  nature  a  plea  for 
atheism,  is  a  stupidity  as  absurd  as  it  is  deplorably  com- 
mon. Who,  we  may  ask,  established  this  natural  order  1 
Who  keeps  it  in  continuance  I  Who  brings  into  being 
2 


10  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

each  successive  link  in  the  chain  of  sequences  1  And 
who  has  arranged  the  whole  series  so  that  every  thing 
occurs  at  the  appointed  time  and  in  the  proper  place  1 

But  while  philosophy  and  religion  conspire  in  teach- 
ing that  the  hand  of  God  must  be  devoutly  recognized 
in  all  the  operations  of  Providence,  the  investigation  of 
final  causes  is  circumscribed  within  narrow  limits.  We 
can  only  study  them  in  relation  to  ourselves.  To  scru- 
tinize the  purposes  which  God  means  certainly  to  ac- 
complish, and  explore  the  ultimate  reasons  of  His  visita- 
tions to  the  children  of  men— to  say  precisely  what  was 
the  design  of  the  Almighty  in  such  and  such  a  proceeding, 
were  beyond  the  limits  of  mortal  penetration.  He  work- 
eth  all  things  according  to  the  counsel  of  His  own  will. 
The  hidden  springs  which  move  that  will— the  ends 
which  God  actually  intends  to  achieve,  we  are  not  com- 
petent to  discover.  But  the  relations  of  these  events  to 
us — their  tendencies  and  adaptations  are  obvious  and 
patent— and  these  tendencies  are  so  many  expressions 
of  the  Divine  pleasure— so  many  intimations  of  what 
God  would  have  us  to  do  or  forbear.  His  Providence 
often  carries  lessons  on  its  face  which  it  is  criminal  stupi- 
dity not  to  perceive,  and  criminal  insensibility  not  to 
feel.  His  visitations  are  often  messages  to  men,  as  pal- 
pable and  clear  as  if  the  heavens  were  opened  and  an 
angel  commissioned  to  speak  from-  the  skies. 

That  there  are  events  brought  about  in  the  regu- 
lar operation  of  secondary  causes,  which  from  their 
importance  and  their  juncture,  have  all  the  effect  of  a 
miracle,  in  rousing  attention  and  extorting  the  confession 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  ft 

of  the  presence  of  God,  requires  only  to  be  stated  in  order 
to  be  owned.  Though  no  encroachments  upon  the  es- 
tablished order  of  sublunary  things,  they  are  invasions 
upon  the  dull  uniformity  of  thought — they  disturb  the 
tranquillity  which  sees  nothing  in  the  world  but  a  suc- 
cession of  antecedents  and  consequents,  which  appear 
and  disappear,  exciting  no  other  feeling  than  that  they 
are  a  matter  of  course — they  break  the  slumbers  of  a 
practical  Atheism  and  provoke  the  acknowledgement 
that  there  is  a  God  in  the  heavens — who  has  done  what- 
soever He  pleased — that  there  are  watchers  and  a  Holy 
one  who  rule  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  distribute  dy- 
nasties and  thrones  with  sovereign  authority.  There  are 
events  in  which  the  natural  is  lost  in  something  which  is 
felt  not  to  be  a  matter  of  course— we  pause  before  them— 
we  spontaneously  give  heed  to  them  as  having  a  special 
significance— we  interrogate  them  as  strange  and  unex- 
pected visiters— and  through  them,  if  we  are  wise,  we 
shall  learn  lessons  that  it  was  worth v  of  a  miracle  to 
teach.  Precisely  of  this  character  is  the  event  which 
has  hung  our  own  Commonwealth  in  mourning— has 
struck  the  nation  with  awe— has  roused  the  attention 
of  all  classes  in  the  community  and  has  elicited  publick 
expressions  of  sorrow  and  lamentation  from  societies, 
clubs,  schools,  colleges,  districts,  towns,  cities  and  legisla- 
tive assemblies.  This  spontaneous  expression  of  grief— 
every  where — from  all  parties — from  every  portion  of  the 
land — from  the  pulpit  and  the  press — the  intense  interest 
the  death  of  our  illustrious  Senator  has  excited — place  it 
beyond  all  question  in  the  category  of  those  events  in 


12  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

which  God  solemnly  announces  His  own  sovereignty  and 
communicates  a  message  to  the  children  of  men  as  if  by 
a  legate  from  the  skies. 

Upon  occasions  of  this  sort,  it  has  been  justly  remark- 
ed by  one,  who  of  all  others,  knew  best  how  to  improve 
them,  "the  greatest  difficulty  a  speaker  has  to  surmount 
is  already  obviated — attention  is  awake — an  interest  is 
excited,  and  all  that  remains  is  to  lead  the  mind,  already 
sufficiently  susceptible,  to  objects  of  permanent  utility — 
he  originates  nothing — it  is  not  so  much  he  that  speaks 
as  the  events  which  speak  for  themselves — he  only  pre- 
sumes to  interpret  the  language  and  to  guide  the  confus- 
ed emotions  of  a  sorrowful  and  swollen  heart  into  the 
channels  of  piety." 

It  is  not  the  office  of  the  pulpit,  however,  to  praise  the 
dead  or  flatter  the  living.  As  it  surveys  departed  great- 
ness with  a  different  eye  from  the  eye  of  sense,  it  can 
bring  no  offerings  to  the  altar  of  human  glory,  nor  erect 
a  monument  to  the  achievements  of  human  genius.  The 
preacher,  in  common  with  other  men,  may  drop  a  tear 
at  the  urn  of  the  patriot,  and  dwell  with  delight  upon  those 
rare  gifts  which  the  Supreme  Disposer  of  all  things  has 
conferred  upon  a  mighty  statesman.  He,  too,  is  a  man 
and  a  citizen — and  in  these  relations  he  may  feel  and 
weep  as  others  weep  at  the  extinction  of  a  great  light. 
But  as  the  ancient  prophets  were  required,  in  the  pro- 
clamation of  their  messages,  to  suppress  the  voice  of  na- 
ture and  to  speak  with  a  dignity  and  majesty  befitting 
the  oracles  of  God,  so  the  pulpit  must  stand  aloof  from 
the  language  of  panegyric,  know  neither  friendship  nor 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  13 

hatred,  and  seek  to  extract  from  the  dispensations  of 
Providence  only  those  lessons  of  the  Divine  word,  they 
are  suited  to  illustrate  and  enforce.  As  we  bury  our 
dead  this  day,  and  as  men,  patriots  and  citizens,  mourn 
that  the  delight  of  our  eyes  and  pride  of  our  hearts  has 
been  removed  from  us  at  a  stroke,  let  us  recognize  the 
hand  of  the  Almighty  and  inquire,  with  solemnity  and 
reverence,  what  the  instructions  are  which  the  judge  of 
all  tr^th  is  imparting  to  the  country  by  this  dark 
visitation.  A  Senator  has  fallen — a  statesman  has  per- 
ished— a  man  has  died.  In  these  aspects,  the  mourn- 
ful occurrence  may  be  regarded  as  the  voice  of  God, 
teaching  a  fitting  lesson  to  the  councils,  rulers  and  people 
of  the  land. 

•  I.  A  Senator  has  fallen  !  There  is  a  message  here  to 
those  who  are  entrusted  with  the  cares  of  government 
and  the  business  of  legislation.  The  introduction  of 
death,  in  a  form  so  awful  and  astounding,  into  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  was  a  proclamation  from  heaven,  to 
all  who  are  called  to  deliberate  upon  the  affairs  of  the 
country,  that  their  ways  are  before  the  eyes  of  the  Lord, 
and  that  He  pondereth  all  their  goings.  Whatever  may 
be  the  cause,  it  is  impossible  to  contemplate  death  in  our 
own  species  as  a  merely  natural  event.  We  may  endea- 
vour by  a  shallow  philosophy  to  persuade  ourselves  that  it 
was  the  original  lot  of  our  race — that  we  were  designed, 
like  the  beasts  that  perish,  to  appear  and  disappear  in  suc- 
cession— to  fret  and  strut  our  hour  upon  the  stage,  and 
then  be  seen  no  more — that  like  drink  and  food  and  sleep, 
it  constitutes  an  element  of  our  destined  course — and  is 


14  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

no  more  remarkable  than  any  other  phenomenon  of  our 
being.  But  no  philosophy  can  impress  these  sentiments 
upon  the  heart — our  moral  nature  rises  in  rebellion  against 
them,  and  the  instinctive  feeling  of  mankind  is  that  it  is  a 
dread  and  awful  thing  to  die.  Having  sprung,  as  we  are 
informed  by  the  sure  word  of  prophecy,  from  a  moral 
cause — being  a  judicial  visitation  of  God — how  natural 
soever  the  instruments  may  be  by  which  it  is  brought  about 
— the  fixed  associations  of  the  mind  connect  it  with  moral 
retribution — and  every  conscience  responds  to  the  declar- 
ation of  the  apostle — that  it  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to 
die — and  after  death  the  judgment.  You  cannot  behold 
a  corpse — you  cannot  stand  by  a  grave — without  feeling 
that  though  the  body  is  there,  the  soul  is  gone  to  receive 
its  final  award.  The  very  language  in  which  the  event 
is  familiarly  described,  indicates  the  instinctive  belief  that 
the  man  is  still  in  being  in  all  the  mystery  of  his  identity 
—and  that  he  has  taken  a  journey  to  a  world  from  which 
he  is  to  depart  no  more.  We  say  that  he  is  gone — gone 
to  his  final  home — to  his  fixed  and  everlasting  abode.  His 
being  is  not  extinguished.  He  has  laid  aside  the  habiliments 
of  mortality — the  robes  and  decorations  of  a  sublunary 
state — to  stand  in  the  nakedness  of  his  moral  nature  be- 
fore the  bar  of  God.  The  man — what  was  simply  the 
man — that  upon  which  the  law  pressed — the  intellectual 
life — is  unclothed  that  naked,  as  it  came  to  run  its  career 
of  probation,  naked  it  may  return  to  give  an  account  of  the 
deeds  done  in  the  body.  Hence  the  awful  solemnity  of 
death — it  is  the  precursor  of  judgment.  God's  minister 
to  summon  God's  creatures  to  God's  tremendous  bar.     It 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  15 

is  accordingly  a  great  thing  to  die.  The  keys  of  death 
and  hell  are  in  the  hands  of  Him  who  sitteth  upon  the 
throne — and  it  is  a  solemn  act  of  mediatorial  government 
to  open  the  doors  of  the  invisible  world  and  consign  a 
deathless  spirit  to  its  destined  position.  We  say  that 
such  and  such  an  one  is  dead.  The  very  sound  is  omi- 
nous and  its  portentous  meaning  has  been  fearfully  por- 
trayed— "an  immortal  spirit  has  finished  its  earthly  career 
— has  passed  the  barriers  of  the  invisible  world — to  appear 
before  its  maker,  in  order  to  receive  that  sentence  which 
will  fix  its  irrecoverable  doom,  according  to  the  deeds 
done  in  the  body.  An  event  has  taken  place  which  has 
no  parallel  in  the  revolutions  of  time,  the  consequences 
of  which  have  not  room  to  expand  themselves  within  a 
narrower  sphere  than  an  endless  duration.  An  event  has 
occurred  the  issues  of  which  must  ever  baffle  and  elude 
all  finite  comprehensions,  by  concealing  themselves  in  the 
depths  of  that  abyss,  that  eternity,  which  is  the  dwelling 
place  of  Deity,  where  there  is  sufficient  space  for  the 
destiny  of  each,  among  the  innumerable  millions  of  the 
human  race,  to  develope  itself,  and  without  interference 
or  confusion,  to  sustain  and  carry  forward  its  separate  in- 
finity of  interest."  This  is  true  of  the  departure  of  the 
meanest  individual  to  the  world  of  spirits.  But  the 
familiarity  of  the  scene  and  the  small  degree  of  interest 
which  attaches  to  the  humble  and  obscure — the  narrow 
circle  within  which  that  dissolution  is  mourned  as  a  ca- 
lamity, or  deplored  as  a  loss,  prevents  the  impressions 
which  death  as  a  judicial  visitation  is  suited  to  make  upon 
the  mind  from  exerting  their  full  and  appropriate  effect. 


16  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

"  In  the  private  departments  of  life,  the  distressing  inci- 
dents which  occur  are  confined  to  a  narrow  circle.  The 
hope  of  an  individual  is  crushed — the  happiness  of  a 
family  is  destroyed — but  the  social  system  is  unimpaired 
and  its  movements  experience  no  impediment  and  sus- 
tain no  sensible  injury.  The  arrow  passes  through  the 
air  which  soon  closes  over  it  and  all  is  tranquil.  But 
when  the  great  lights  and  ornaments  of  the  world,  placed 
aloft  to  conduct  its  inferior  movements,  are  extinguished, 
such  an  event  resembles  the  Apocalyptic  vial,  poured  into 
that  element  which  changes  its  whole  temperature  and 
is  the  presage  of  fearful  commotions — of  thunders,  light- 
nings and  tempests."  Such  an  event  reveals  the  presence 
of  God — and  summons  imagination  and  thought  to  the 
contemplation  of  those  august  realities  which  await  the 
revelation  of  the  last  hour.  Such  an  event  brings  eternity 
before  us  with  all  its  dread  and  tremendous  retributions 
and  presses  upon  the  soul  the  burden  of  an  awful  and 
oppressive  responsibility.  It  makes  us  feel  the  magni- 
tude of  our  being — and  the  stoutest  heart  is  roused  for  a 
moment  and  startled  at  the  summons — prepare  to  meet 
thy  God. 

The  lesson  of  responsibility,  of  course,  tells  with  more 
direct  and  powerful  effect  upon  those  who  are  intimately 
associated  in  pursuit — friendship — or  profession  with  the 
victim  of  the  destroyer.  He  being  dead  speaks  pre-emi- 
nently to  them.  Through  his  grave  they  are  invited  to 
contemplate  eternity,  and  his  departed  spirit  reminds 
them  of  the  hour  in  which  they  too  shall  be  called  to 
lay  aside  the  vestments  of  mortality.     It  tells  them  to  do 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  17 

their  work  as  in  the  eye  of  God — to  think  and  act  and  de- 
liberate and  feel,  in  full  view  of  the  account  which 
they  must  render  at  last.  It  tells  them  that  a  moral 
character  attaches  alike  to  their  persons  and  their  deeds 
— and  that  the  complexion  of  their  destiny  depends  upon 
the  spirit  in  which  they  discharge  the  duties  of  their  sta- 
tion. When  consigning  a  body  to  the  tomb,  or  witnessing 
the  last  gasp  of  a  dying  friend— we  seem  to  stand  upon  the 
very  borders  of  the  unseen  world— to  be  walking  on  the 
shore  of  that  boundless  ocean— in  which  all  the  streams 
of  time  are  swallowed  up— we  almost  hear  the  thunder  of 
its  billows— and  feel  the  heavings  of  its  waves — and  a 
sense  of  immortality  rushes  upon  the  soul  which  at  once 
oppresses  and  expands.  We  feel  like  rising  and  shaking 
ourselves  from  the  dust— and  the  resolution  is  involunta- 
rily adopted — though  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  too 
speedily  forgotten— to  do  with  our  might  whatsoever  our 
hands  find  to  do— since  the  night  cometh  when  no  man 
can  work. 

No  lesson  could  be  more  seasonable,  in  the  present  cri- 
sis of  our  national  affairs,  than  the  responsibility  of  rulers 
and  legislators  to  God  the  judge  of  all.  That  this  doc- 
trine is  inadequately  apprehended,  the  history  of  legis- 
lation in  this  and  every  other  country  is  a  mournful  proof. 
There  are  two  errors— widely  prevalent— which  have  a 
direct  and  necessary  tendency  to  despoil  it  of  its  full 
and  just  proportions— one  is,  that  national  responsibility 
is  limited,  in  its  operation  and  effects,  to  the  dispensa- 
tions of  Providence  in  the  present  world— and  the  other 
is,  that  where  there  exists  not,  as  there  should  exist 
3 


18  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

no  where,  a  national  establishment  of  religion,  the  distinc- 
tive sanctions  of  religion  cannot  be  introduced.  The 
effect  of  both  errors  is  the  same  in  relation  to  the  retri- 
butions of  a  future  world.  And  although  one  appears  to 
be  widely  removed  from  the  other,  in  that  it  acknow- 
ledges the  fact  of  national  responsibility,  yet  its  mistake 
in  limiting  the  Divine  visitations  to  our  present  and  sub- 
lunary state,  divests  the  doctrine  of  all  its  awful  and  com- 
manding majesty.  It  invests  the  Almighty,  as  the  ruler 
of  nations,  with  limited  power  and  with  temporary  judg- 
ments— it  places  at  His  disposal  the  plague,  pestilence  and 
famine — war,  earthquakes  and  tornadoes — but  it  robs  Him 
of  that  thunder  w^hich  holds  individuals  in  check — of  that 
vengeance  which  makes  the  future  so  terrible  to  the  wor- 
kers of  iniquity.  He  may  ride  upon  the  whirlwind  and 
direct  the  storm — he  may  grind  the  nations  as  the  small 
dust  of  the  balance — he  may  extinguish  their  lights — 
throw  them  back  into  barbarism — but  for  their  national 
sins  he  cannot  visit  them  in  the  wTorld  of  spirits. 

As  the  ordinary  course  of  affairs  affords  but  slight  indi- 
cations of  any  marked  visitation  for  national  iniquities — 
as  communities  seem  to  be  dealt  with  upon  very  much  the 
same  principle  as  private  individuals — one  event  happen- 
ing alike  to  all,  this  defective  theory  of  national  responsi- 
bility amounts  in  practice  to  a  total  destruction  of  any  ef- 
fective sense  of  responsibility  at  all.  Seed  time  and  har- 
vest— commerce  and  trade — the  various  elements  of  na- 
tional prosperity,  seem  to  be  so  largely  within  the  com- 
pass of  human  calculation  and  foresight,  that  wdiere  ap- 
pearances,  according  to  the   established  connections  of 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  19 

antecedents  and  consequents,  promise  well  for  the  future, 
these  anticipations  will  be  adopted  as  the  real  guide  of 
conduct  rather  than  any  apprehensions  of  sudden  and 
violent  interpositions  of  Divine  justice.  Men  judge  of  the 
future  by  the  indications  of  the  present — or  the  expe- 
rience of  the  past — and  if  they  have  nothing  to  deter 
them  from  evil  but  the  prospect  of  immediate  calamity, 
they  will  seldom  find  reason  to  be  alarmed.  The  conse- 
quence upon  statesmen  and  legislators  is  very  much  the 
same  with  the  natural  effects  of  the  doctrine  of  universal 
salvation  upon  other  individuals.  The  conclusion  which 
they  cannot  but  draw  from  the  facts  of  Providence  would 
be  as  unfavourable  to  moral  distinctions  and  the  rectitude 
of  the  Divine  administration  as  if  they  reasoned  from  the 
fortunes  of  individuals.  They  could  not  but  believe,  either 
that  God  was  indifferent  to  the  moral  conduct  of  organized 
communities — or  that  if  He  punished,  it  was  so  seldom — 
so  irregularly,  and  except  in  rare  and  extraordinary  cases, 
so  imperceptibly,  that  no  serious  estimate  should  be  made 
of  His  pleasure  or  displeasure  in  settling  any  great  ques- 
tion of  national  policy.  The  final  result  would  be  a  prac- 
tical atheism  which  would  completely  exclude  Him  from 
the  councils  of  the  country. 

The  other  error  conducts  to  this  result  directly  and  im- 
mediately. It  maintains  that  as  a  nation,  in  its  organic 
capacity,  cannot  make  a  profession  of  religion — cannot 
worship  God  nor  believe  the  Gospel  of  His  grace — there- 
fore it  is  exempt  from  His  controul — and  bound  to  have 
no  special  respect  to  His  laws.  This  doctrine  confounds 
the  national  obligations  of  religion  with  the  existence  of 


20  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

a  national  Church.  And  as  the  establishment  of  any  sect, 
or  any  particular  species  of  religion,  is  an  encroachment 
upon  the  rights  of  conscience,  it  is  concluded  that  all  re- 
ligion must  be  excluded  from  halls  of  legislation,  courts  of 
judicature  or  seats  of  power.  The  impression  prevails, 
to  a  melancholy  extent,  that  the  administration  of  the 
country  is  an  affair  in  which  God  has  no  interest  and 
should,  by  no  means,  be  consulted,  and  in  conformity  with 
this  impression  many  look  for  it  as  a  matter  of  course  that 
all  the  measures  of  the  State  shall  be  independent  of  any 
relations  to  religion.  There  are  those  who  would  ex- 
clude it  from  public  institutions  of  learning — from  the  ar- 
my, the  navy, — as  well  as  from  the  halls  of  Congress. 

In  both  errors  the  fallacy  is  committed  of  overlooking 
one  of  the  most  obvious  and  fundamental  principles  of 
moral  philosophy.  All  responsibility,  in  the  last  analysis, 
is  personal  and  individual.  The  responsibility  of  a  nation 
is  not  the  responsibility  of  an  organic  whole  considered  as 
such,  but  of  all  the  individuals  who  collectively  compose  it. 
The  State  is  a  compendious  expression  for  certain  rela- 
tions in  which  moral  and  responsible  persons  exist  to- 
wards each  other — the  duties  of  the  State  are  all  the 
duties  of  individuals — the  crimes  of  the  State  are  the 
crimes  of  individuals — the  sins  of  the  State  are  the  sins 
of  individuals,  and  the  prosperity  and  the  glory  of  the 
State  are  the  prosperity  and  glory  of  individuals.  The 
State  is  nothing  apart  from  the  men  who  constitute  it. 
They  exist  in  society,  with  reciprocal  rights  and  obliga- 
tions, and  the  company  of  individuals  so  existing  is  the 
State.     To  protect  and  defend  these  rights — to  maintain 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  21 

the  supremacy  of  justice — to  give  each  individual  the 
scope  for  the  developement,  without  interference  or  colli- 
sion, of  his  separate  and  distinct  personality,  with  a  simi- 
lar privilege  to  others,  is  the  primary  end  of  govern- 
ment— which  must  still  be  conducted  by  individuals  and 
carries  along  with  it  only  individual  responsibility.  In 
all  the  relations,  in  all  the  employments,  in  all  the  depart- 
ments of  the  State,  every  one  who  is  called  to  act  is  still 
only  a  man — and  he  brings  to  his  labours  all  the  measure 
of  responsibility  which  appertains  to  his  capacities  and 
knowledge  considered  simply  as  a  man.  He  is  every 
where — in  every  office — in  every  trust,  an  immortal  be- 
ing, under  the  law  of  God — and  the  sanctions  of  that  law 
extend  as  clearly  and  completely  to  his  political  conduct 
as  to  any  other  actions  of  his  life.  That  law  knows  no 
manner  of  distinction  betwixt  the  statesman  and  the  man 
— the  stateman  is  only  the  man,  in  new  relations,  involv- 
ing new  applications  of  the  eternal  principles  of  right. 
An  honest  man  and  a  corrupt  politician  are  a  contradic- 
tion in  terms. 

It  is  hence  obvious  how  the  obligations  and  sanctions 
of  religion  press  upon  communities  and  nations.  A  State 
is  bound  to  be  religious,  in  the  sense  that  every  man  in  it 
is  bound  to  fear  God  and  to  work  righteousness  A 
State  is  bound  to  reverence  the  gospel,  in  the  sense  that 
all  its  members  are  obliged,  on  pain  of  the  second  death , 
to  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ — and  a  State  is  re- 
quired to  glorify  God,  in  the  sense  that  all  its  citizens — 
whether  in  private  stations  or  posts  of  dignity  and  trust — 
are  required,  in  whatever  they  do,  to  seek  the  glory  of 


22  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

His  great  name.  When  a  legislature  passes  a  law,  it  is 
done  by  the  votes  of  individuals — and  these  individuals 
are  all  responsible  as  such,  for  the  votes  that  they  give. 
If  any  man  has  lent  his  sanction,  in  his  public  and  official 
relations,  to  aught  that  transgresses  the  law  of  God,  or 
slights  the  institutions  of  the  Gospel,  it  is  sin  upon  his  soul 
to  be  visited  and  punished  as  any  other  wickedness  of 
his  life.  God  treats  him  as  an  individual,  in  such  and 
such  relations,  with  such  and  such  duties  growing  out 
of  them. 

His  responsibilities,  therefore,  as  a  ruler — a  legislator — 
a  judge,  are  precisely  of  the  same  fundamental  nature — 
have  precisely  the  same  fundamental  character — with 
his  responsibilities  in  the  private  walks  of  life.  He  is 
summoned  as  a  man  to  God's  bar — and  the  scrutiny  is 
made  into  all  that  the  man  has  done,  in  the  various  rela- 
tions which  he  has  been  called  to  sustain — and  he  is  just 
as  liable  to  be  sent  to  hell  for  a  corrupt  vote — a  political 
intrigue — or  a  political  fraud,  as  for  lying,  hypocrisy  or 
treachery  in  the  private  walks  of  life.  The  law  of  God 
as  completely  bound  him  in  one  position  as  in  another — 
and  in  every  position,  a  man  should  recognize  himself  as 
God's  subject  who  must  give  an  account  at  God's  bar 
of  all  that  he  has  done  in  all  the  relations  in  which  God's 
Providence  has  placed  him.  This  is  the  doctrine  of  the 
Scriptures  as  well  as  the  plain  dictate  of  unsophisticated 
reason. 

The  mandate  of  the  text  is  given  to  kings  and  judges, 
as  individuals,  or  men  occupying  high  posts  of  power  or 
renown.     "  Be  wise  now   therefore  O  ye  kings,   be  in- 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  23 

structed  ye  judges  of  the  earth — serve  the  Lord  with  fear 
and  rejoice  with  trembling — kiss  the  the  Son  lest  He 
be  angry  and  ye  perish  from  the  way  when  His  wrath 
is  kindled  but  a  little." 

If  this  doctrine  could  be  impressed  upon  our  public 
men  and  upon  the  heart  of  the  nation,  it  would  soon 
give  us  in  our  national  councils,  what  the  present  cri- 
sis so  eminently  demands — statesmen  instead  of  job- 
bers and  politicians.  There  is  not  and  cannot  be  a  more 
painful  spectacle,  than  to  see  the  interests  of  a  great  peo- 
ple tossed  to  and  fro  by  the  schemes  and  intrigues  and 
chicane  of  men,  who  have  neither  the  fear  of  God  before 
their  eyes  nor  the  love  of  their  country  in  their  hearts. 
We  cannot  but  dread  some  impending  calamity  when 
we  see  the  honour  and  prosperity  and  glory  of  a  nation 
made  the  sport  "  of  the  party  tactics  and  the  little  selfish 
schemes  of  little  men,  who  by  the  visitation  of  God,  hap- 
pen to  have  some  controul  over  a  great  subject  and  some 
influence  in  a  great  commonwealth."  It  is  a  lamentation 
and  shall  be  for  a  lamentation — that  the  most  momentous 
interests,  requiring  for  their  adjustment  amplitude  of 
mind,  integrity  of  purpose — simplicity  of  aim — broad 
and  general  considerations  of  truth  and  justice — should 
so  often  be  the  sacrifice  of  dwarfish  politicians — who  are 
unable  to  extend  their  vision  beyond  the  domain  of  self 
— or  the  almost  equally  narrow  circle  of  section,  party, 
or  clique —  that  in  affairs  which  call  for  the  counsels 
of  men — of  men  who  are  in  some  degree  sensible  of  what 
it  is  to  be  a  man — who  have  God's  smile  or  frown  before 
them — that  in  such  affairs,  we   should  be  dependent  on 


24  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

the  guidance  of  pigmies— yea  of  worse  than  pigmies— 
of  beings  who  profess  to  be  immortal— to  be  working  out 
a  destiny  for  eternity,  and  yet  who  can  rise  to  no  loftier 
ends  than  the  flesh  pots  of  Egypt.  A  statesman  is  a  sub- 
lime character— a  jobbing  politician  too  little  for  con- 
tempt. 

Aristotle,  in  designating  the  points  of  correspondence 
between  a  pure  democracy  and  a  despotism— -the  ethical 
characters  of  which  he  makes  the  same — has  noted  the 
affinity  between  the  parasite  of  a  court  and  a  popular 
demagogue.  "  They  are  not  unfrequently"— says  he— 
"  the  same  identical  men— and  always  bear  a  close  anal- 
ogy." The  distinguishing  characteristic  of  each  is  an  ut- 
ter destitution  of  elevated  principle,  arising  from  the  ab- 
sence of  any  just  sense  of  moral  responsibility.  The 
schemes  of  each  are  only  contrivances  for  personal  ag- 
grandizement. The  most  momentous  interests  of  the 
nation  are  viewed  as  the  occasions  or  instruments  of  pri- 
vate or  party  ends.  Every  thing  proceeds  from  selfish 
and  sordid  calculation,  while  the  supremacy  of  right  and 
the  authoritative  voice  of  duty,  the  highest  policy  of  a 
true  statesman — are  little  reverenced  by  these  pests  of 
the  Commonwealth.  The  parasite  of  a  court  is  designa- 
ted in  Greek  by  a  term  which  condenses  the  very  essence 
of  the  meanness  contained  in  flattery,  hypocrisy  and 
fawning.  The  cure  of  such  eruptions  upon  the  surface 
of  political  society  is  a  pervading  sense  of  personal  respon- 
sibility. Impregnated  with  this  sentiment— none  would 
assume  duties  which  they  were  incompetent  to  discharge 
—because  none  would  be  willing  to  jeopard  the  interests 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  25 

of  salvation  for  the  brief  importance  of  an  hour.  Who 
would  wear  a  crown  steeped  in  poison  or  occupy  a 
throne  with  a  drawn  sword  above  his  head  ?  The  solem- 
nities of  eternity  would  be  made  to  protect  the  interests 
of  time. 

For  the  purpose  of  teaching  this  lesson — the  lesson  of 
personal  responsibility  for  the  manner  and  spirit  in  which 
they  have  discharged  the  duties  of  their  trust,  the  event 
which  we  this  day  contemplate,  may  have  been  permit- 
ted to  take  place.  The  bar  of  God,  the  tribunal  of  eter- 
nal justice,  was  reared  in  the  halls  of  legislation.  A 
signal  example  was  given  of  one  who,  in  the  midst  of  his 
duties,  was  called  to  his  final  account.  Each  survivor  was 
reminded  of  what  soon  would  be  true  of  him.  The  scene 
was  touching  and  solemn  beyond  description,  when  the 
dead  body  of  our  departed  Senator,  in  the  scene  of  his 
greatest  glory,  was  made  a  monitor  of  God,  eternity  and 
retribution  to  those  who  were  deliberating  upon  the 
greatest  question  that  has  ever  arisen  in  the  history  of 
any  people.  From  the  tomb  he  seemed  to  say— remem- 
ber, Senators,  that  you  must  soon  give  an  account  of  your 
stewardship.  The  eyes  of  God  are  on  you— "raise 
your  conceptions  to  the  magnitude  and  importance 
of  the  duties  that  devolve  upon  you," — "let  your  com- 
prehension be  as  broad  as  the  country  for  which  you 
act— your  aspirations  as  high  as  its  certain  destiny" — 
deliberate,  vote — decide— as  if  the  next  moment  you 
were  to  be  with  me  in  the  world  of  spirits— at  the  bar  of 
God — in  a  changeless  state.  Remember  that  you  occupy 
a  sublime  position— a  spectacle  to  the  Deity,  to  angels  and 

4        A   (r> 


26  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

to  men.  The  civil  destinies  of  the  world  hang  on  your 
decision.  Rise  to  the  dignity  and  grandeur  of  your  cal- 
ling as  immortal  beings,  and  instead  of  seeking  to  conci- 
liate a  section— to  promote  a  party— or  to  aggrandize 
yourselves— instead  of  contracting  your  views  to  the  idle 
and  ephemeral  applauses  of  earth,  aim  at  the  approbation 
of  angels  and  of  God.  This  was  the  language  in  which 
He,  being  dead,  yet  spoke  to  his  companions  and  brethren 
in  the  Senate — and  his  voice  we  trust  has  not  been  whol- 
ly unheard.  The  noble  eulogy  of  Webster— the  touch- 
ing tribute  of  Clay— the  tone  imparted  to  the  Senate,  lead 
to  the  hope  that,  notwithstanding  recent  and  flagrant 
outrages,  there  exists  in  that  august  assembly  a  sense  of 
responsibility,  which  wisely  directed  may,  under  God, 
prove  the  salvation  of  the  country.  But  whether  regard- 
ed or  disregarded,  it  is  the  office  of  the  pulpit  to  proclaim 
to  our  rulers  that  God  will  bring  them  into  judgment 
for  their  public  and  official  conduct— that  however  they 
may  overlook  every  thing  but  the  success  of  their  sel- 
fish schemes  or  the  commendation  of  their  persons,  God 
demands  of  them  a  supreme  regard  for  justice,  truth  and 
religion— it  is  the  office  of  the  preacher  to  tell  them,  that 
if  they  say  or  do  aught  contrary  to  the  principles  of 
eternal  rectitude,  they  say  or  do  it  at  the  peril  of  their 
souls— and  to  remind  them  from  the  memorable  example 
of  Herod  that,  though  an  infatuated  mob  may  shout  in  its 
blindness,  it  is  the  voice  of  God  and  not  of  man — the  judg- 
ments of  heaven  may  consign  their  souls  to  the  lowest  hell. 
Lightly  and  carelessly  as  it  is  sought,  the  office  of  a 
legislator  is  a  solemn  trust.     It  is  wicked  to  aspire  to  it 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  27 

without  being  prepared  for  its  duties — and  when  it  is 
bought  or  secured  by  the  corruption  of  the  people,  it  is 
the  wages  of  iniquity  which  God  will  surely  turn  into  a 
curse.  How  can  that  man  entertain  any  adequate  con- 
viction of  his  responsibility  to  God,  in  discharging  the 
functions  of  a  place  into  which  he  was  introduced  by  an 
open  contempt  of  the  Deity  1  I  confess  frankly,  that  I 
tremble  for  my  country  when  I  contemplate  the  deplor- 
able extent  to  which  politicks  are  turned  into  a  trade — 
when  I  see  the  shocking  separation  in  the  national  mind 
betwixt  the  candidate  and  the  man — the  politician  and 
the  citizen.  To  counteract  this  tendency,  to  impress 
upon  all,  the  individual  and  personal  nature  of  responsi- 
bility— to  inculcate  the  supremacy  of  right  every  where, 
in  all  relations,  is  an  end  worthy  of  the  extinction  of  the 
brightest  lights  of  the  land.  To  make  us  feel  the  all- 
pervading  authority  of  the  moral  law  and  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith — to  bring  us  to  the  recognition  of  the  truth,  that 
in  all  the  diversified  scenes  to  which  the  Providence  of 
God  allots  the  children  of  men — they  are  still  to  be  re- 
garded as  Christians  and  as  men — developing  the  char- 
acter and  manifesting  the  principles  upon  which  their  eter- 
nal destiny  depends,  is  a  consummation  cheaply  purchased 
by  events,  which  in  the  figured  language  of  the  Scriptures, 
are  compared  to  the  eclipse  of  suns — the  destruction  of 
the  stars  and  the  convolution  of  the  heavens.  And  if  the 
death  of  our  illustrious  Senator  shall  contribute  to  inspire 
the  breasts  of  our  Senators  and  Representatives  with 
the  sentiments  which  befit  their  station,  it  will  be  his  lot  to 
have  served  his  country  as  gloriously  in  death  as  in  life. 


28  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

II.  The  lesson  which  this  event,  considered  as  the 
death  of  a  statesman,  is  suited  to  impart,  is  addressed 
to  the  people  at  large,  and  comes  with  pointed  emphasis, 
in  the  present  crisis  of  affairs,  to  the  people  of  the  South, 
and  particularly  to  us  in  South  Carolina.  It  is  better 
to  trust  in  the  Lord  than  to  put  confidence  in  man — 
it  is  better  to  trust  in  the  Lord  than  to  put  confidence 
in  princes.  In  God  is  my  salvation  and  glory — the  rock 
of  my  strength  and  my  refuge  is  in  God — trust  in  Him, 
at  all  times,  ye  people,  pour  out  your  heart  before  Him 
— God  is  a  refuge  for  us — surely  men  of  low  degree 
are  vanity  and  men  of  high  degree  are  a  lie — to  be 
laid  in  the  balance  they  are  altogether  lighter  than  van- 
ity. Thus  saith  the  Lord — cursed  be  the  man  that 
trusteth  in  man  and  maketh  flesh  his  arm — whose  heart 
departeth  from  the  Lord.  For  he  shall  be  like  the  heath 
in  the  desert  and  shall  not  see  when  good  cometh."  Woe 
to  the  rebellious  children,  saith  the  Lord,  that  take  coun- 
sel, but  not  of  me — that  cover  with  a  covering,  but  not 
of  my  spirit,  that  they  may  add  sin  to  sin — that  walk  to 
go  down  into  Egypt,  and  have  not  asked  at  my  mouth,  to 
strengthen  themselves  in  the  strength  of  Pharaoh  and  to 
trust  in  the  shadow   of  Egypt. 

The  lesson  which  the  Providence  of  God  was  contin- 
ually inculcating  upon  the  heathen  nations,  whose  affairs 
are  incidentally  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures,  is  that  the 
Most  High  ruleth  in  the  kingdoms  of  men— and  accom- 
plishes His  pleasure  among  the  armies  of  heaven  and  the 
inhabitants  of  earth.  The  dominion  of  Jesus  Christ  as 
Mediator  extends  to  nations  as  well  as  individuals — States 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  29 

and  governments  are  the  instruments  of  God,  ordained  in 
their  respective  departments,  to  execute  His  schemes — 
and  the  Divine  Redeemer  bears  written  upon  his  vesture 
and  thigh  a  name  which  indicates  universal  sovereignty 
—Lord  of  Lords  and  King  of  Kings.  They  are  a  part  of 
that  series  of  Providential  arrangrnents,  by  which  the  mo- 
ral purposes  of  God,  in  reference  to  the  race,  are  conducted 
to  their  issue — and  as  much  the  appointments  of  His  will 
as  the  family,  or  the  Church.  There  is  not  the  same  di- 
rect interposition  in  the  organization  of  civil  and  political 
communities  as  in  the  constitution  of  the  Church — but 
the  necessity  of  the  State  is  founded  in  the  nature  of  man 
— springs  from  the  moral  relations  of  individuals— grows 
with  the  growth  and  strengthens  with  the  strength  of 
human  society.  It  is  the  spontaneous  offspring  of  a  so- 
cial state — and  in  the  same  sense  the  creature  of  God, 
that  the  society  from  which  it  springs  and  from  which  it 
cannot  be  severed  is  the  Divine  ordination.  There  never 
was  an  absurder,  and  I  may  add,  a  more  mischievous  fic- 
tion,  than  that  political  communities  are  conventional  ar- 
rangements, suggested  by  the  inconveniences  of  a  natural 
state  of  personal  independence,  and  deriving  their  author- 
ity from  the  free  consent  of  those  who  are  embraced  in 
them.  Political  societies  are  not  artificial  combinations  to 
which  men  have  been  impelled  by  chance  or  choice,  but 
the  ordinance  of  God,  through  the  growth  and  propaga- 
tion of  the  species,  for  the  perfection  and  education  of  the 
race.  The  first  State,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  was  not 
distinct  from  the  family.  But  as  households  were  multi- 
plied, though  the  tie  of  consanguinity  was  still  the  ground 


30  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

upon  which  authority  was  recognized,  and  natural  affec- 
tion and  habitual  association  combined  to  invest  the  pa- 
triarch with  the  highest  jurisdiction,  a  class  of  ideas  be- 
gan to  expand  themselves  which  rested  upon  other  prin- 
ciples than  those  of  blood.  Moral  relations— more  ex- 
tensive and  commanding  than  that  of  father,  husband, 
wife  or  child,  the  relations  of  man  to  man— of  reciprocal 
rights  and  reciprocal  obligations,  were  brought  into  view 
and  the  patriarch  became  a  magistrate— the  representa- 
tive of  justice,  as  well  as  a  father— the  representative  of 
family  affection.  That  the  distinctive  boundaries  of  these 
distinct  relations  were  at  once  understood— that  they  are 
even  now  adequately  apprehended  where  the  nearest 
approximations  to  primitive  society  obtain,  is  by  no  means 
affirmed.  It  was  only  in  the  progress  of  a  long,  slow, 
providental  education  that  the  real  nature  of  the  common- 
wealth, as  contradistinguished  from  other  communities, 
began  to  be  unfolded.  The  State  was  developed  with  the 
progress  of  society— and  as  the  necessity  of  its  existence 
is  laid  in  man's  nature— as  the  supremacy  of  its  claims- 
its  high  and  awful  sovereignty,  is  nothing  but  the  supre- 
macy of  justice  and  of  right,  amon^  moral  and  responsi- 
ble agents,  the  State,  through  whatever  organic  arrange- 
ments its  power  may  be  expressed,  is  the  creature  of  God, 
the  sacred  ordinance  of  heaven.  It  is  not  a  thing  which 
can  be  made  or  unmade,  it  is  part  and  parcel  of  the  con- 
stitution of  our  nature  as  at  once  social  and  responsible. 
This  view  of  the  State  connects  it  at  once  with  the 
moral  purposes  of  the  Deity— and  the  whole  history 
of  the  world  shows  that  its  developement,  which  is  the 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  31 

progress  of  liberty,  depends  upon  the  providential  dispo- 
sition of  events  over  which  the  agency  of  man  has  no  di- 
rect controul.  All  solid  governments  and  all  permanent 
liberty  have  grown  much  more  out  of  circumstances  than 
out  of  fixed  and  definite  purposes  of  man.  A  nation  of 
slaves  cannot  establish  a  free  government — it  is  a  thin  or 
for  which  God  must  have  prepared  the  way,  and  all 
efforts  to  rise  suddenly  from  a  condition  of  despotism 
into  that  of  freedom  have  been  attended  with  licentious- 
ness, anarchy  and  crime.  True  liberty  is  a  thing  of 
growth — there  is  first  a  stock  of  acknowledged  rights 
which  are  transmitted  in  the  wTay  of  inheritance— the  pro- 
gress of  society  enlarges  it  with  fresh  and  fresh  additions 
—there  is  a  conglomeration  of  the  new  and  the  old— 
a  connecting  link  betwixt  the  past  and  the  present — and 
the  consolidation  of  inheritance  and  acquisition  is  the  se- 
curity of  liberty.  Hence  from  the  very  nature  of  man  and 
the  very  nature  of  the  State,  and  the  very  nature  of  liber- 
ty, political  communities  must  receive  their  shape  and  di- 
rection from  the  circumstances  in  which  the  great  Dispo- 
ser of  events  has  placed  any  people.  The  doctrine  of  de- 
pendence upon  God  is,  accordingly,  intertwined  in  the 
very  fibres  of  the  commonwealth.  The  State  is  a  school 
in  which  the  Deity  is  conducting  a  great  process  of  edu- 
cation, and  providential  circumstances  determine  alike  the 
lessons  to  be  taught  and  the  capacity  of  the  scholars  to 
learn  them.  The  dangers,  as  in  all  schools,  are  those  which 
spring  from  indocility  of  temper — or  from  rashness  and 
impetuosity,  which  would  outstrip  the  leadings  of  Provi- 
dence. Each  indicates  a  spirit  of  independence  of  God — 


32  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

and  each  is  apt  to  be  rebuked  with  expressions  of  His  dis- 
pleasure. The  difficulty  with  communities  that  have  been 
long  accustomed  to  the  reign  of  despotism  is,  that  they 
are  too  dull  to  learn — they  are  backward  to  follow  the 
intimations  of  circumstances — they  stagnate  in  their  cor- 
ruptions; and  the  outbreaks  of  revolutions  are  sometimes 
necessary  to  rouse  the  people  and  put  them  in  the  atti- 
tude of  progress.  They  distrust  the  Almighty  and  re- 
fuse to  move  until  they  are  driven. 

The  difficulty  with  free  and  growing  communities  is, 
that,  in  the  consciousness  of  imaginary  wisdom  and 
strength,  they  anticipate  the  slow  progress  of  events, 
and  casting  off  their  dependence  upon  God,  undertake  to 
accomplish  their  destiny  by  their  own  skill  and  resour- 
ces. They  rely  partly  upon  principles — partly  upon 
men — partly  upon  both.  Overlooking  the  concurrence 
of  Providence  which  is  essential  to  the  success  of  political 
combinations  and  arrangements,  they  vainly  imagine  that 
they  can  create  the  circumstances  upon  which  they  are 
dependent.  There  is  a  magic  in  their  doctrines,  or  a 
charm  in  their  schemes,  or  a  power  in  their  champions, 
which  can  subdue  the  elements  and  accomplish  the  work 
of  Him  whose  prerogative  alone  it  is  to  speak  and  it  is 
done — to  command  and  it  stands  fast.  But  the  lesson  of 
the  Bible  and  of  experience  is  "  that  in  the  midst  of  all 
our  preparations,  we  shall,  if  we  are  wise,  repose  our  chief 
confidence  in  Him  who  has  every  element  at  His  dispo- 
sal— who  can  easily  disconcert  the  wisest  counsels,  con- 
found the  mightiest  projects,  and  save,  when  He  pleases, 
by  many  or  by  few.     While  the  vanity  of  such  a  preten- 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  33 

ded  reliance  on  Providence  as  supersedes  the  use  of 
means  is  readily  confessed,  it  is  to  be  feared  we  are  not 
sufficiently  careful  to  guard  against  a  contrary  extreme, 
in  its  ultimate  effects  not  less  dangerous.  If  to  depend  on 
the  interposition  of  Providence  without  human  exertion 
be  to  tempt  God  ;  to  confide  in  an  arm  of  flesh  when  seek- 
ing His  aid  is  to  deny  Him  ;  the  former  is  to  be  pitied  for 
its  weakness — the  latter  to  be  censured  for  its  impiety, 
nor  is  it  easy  to  say  which  affords  the  worst  omen  of  suc- 
cess." 

That  this  lesson  is  eminently  seasonable  in  the  present 
crisis  of  the  nation,  none  can  be  tempted  to  doubt.  It  is 
possible  that  our  confidence  in  the  great  statesman,  whose 
death  a  nation  has  lamented,  may  have  been  such  as  to 
provoke  the  jealousy  of  that  God,  who  will  not  give  His 
glory  to  another.  We  may  have  relied  more  upon  his 
power  of  argument — his  energy  of  persuasion — his  inte- 
grity of  character — his  publick  and  private  influence, 
than  upon  the  secret  operations  of  that  Spirit,  who  con- 
trols the  movements  of  kings  and  turns  the  hearts  of  the 
children  of  men  as  the  rivers  of  water  are  turned.  It  is 
evident  that  what  is  needed  at  the  present  crisis  is  a  spir- 
it of  patriotism — of  justice  and  of  loyalty  to  God.  It  is 
the  temper  of  the  people  and  of  the  rulers  upon  which, 
under  God,  the  salvation  of  the  country  depends.  If  the 
whole  nation  could  be  animated  with  a  single  purpose 
to  do  what  is  right — if  factions  and  parties  and  local  and 
temporary  interests  could  be  forgotten — if  the  presiding 
genius  in  our  halls  of  legislation  were  the  sublime  and 
heroick  principle  of  justice — if  every  member  there  could 
5 


34  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

be  brought  to  feel  that  he  was  the  representative  of  the 
whole  nation,  bound  to  promote,  cherish  and  defend  the 
interests  of  all,  in  conformity  with  the  spirit  and  provi- 
sions of  the  constitution — if  fanaticism  could  be  rebuked 
and  selfishness  suppressed,  and  power  awed  into  a  sense 
of  responsibility — who  doubts  but  that  all  our  difficulties 
would  be  speedily  adjusted — that  the  clouds  which  threa- 
ten us  would  be  rolled  away,  and  the  sun  of  union  and 
liberty  burst  out  again  in  meridian  refulgence  ?  The  pro- 
duction of  this  temper  is  not  within  the  compass  of  man. 
To  change  the  current  of  established  associations — to 
dissolve  the  charms  of  prejudice — to  break  the  fetters 
of  interest — to  enlighten  the  blindness  of  fanaticism  and 
make  power  obedient  to  right — these  are  not  the  feats 
of  argument  or  skill — they  require  the  finger  of  God.  It 
is  He  alone  who  can  give  the  spirit  of  a  sound  mind. 
He  alone  has  direct  access  to  the  souls  of  men— and  in 
the  removal  of  him,  whom  we  were  tempted  to  make 
our  stay  and  our  prop— He  is  exhorting  us  to  trust  only  in 
Himself.  Well  will  it  be  for  us  if  we  can  learn  the  les- 
son. 

It  becomes  us,  however,  to  remember  that  a  people 
can  trust  in  God  only  when  they  are  seeking  the  ends 
of  righteousness  and  truth.  Our  dependence  upon  Him 
should  teach  us  the  lesson  that  righteousness  exalteth  a 
nation  and  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  people.  We  cannot 
expect  the  patronage  of  heaven  to  schemes  of  injustice 
and  of  wrong.  The  State  is  an  element  of  God's  moral 
administration— and  to  secure  His  favour  it  must  sedu- 
lously endeavour  to  maintain   the  supremacy   of  right. 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  35 

He  may  overrule  the  wickedness  of  the  people  for  good- 
He  may  even  permit  unrighteous  kingdoms  to  flourish 
notwithstanding  their  iniquity— but  as  the  habitation  of 
His  throne  is  justice  and  truth,  it  will  be  found,  in  regard 
to  communities,  as  well  as  individuals,  that  Godliness  is 
profitable  for  all  things,  having  the  promise  of  the  life 
that  now  is  and  of  that  which  is  to  come.  "  There  is  in 
the  bosom  of  all  human  societies  a  desire  and  a  power 
of  ceaseless  progress.  It  is  struggling  now— it  will  strug- 
gle to  the  end.  Many  failures  have  passed— many  are 
still  to  come.  Not  until  men  clearly  see  the  real  and  the 
only  security  for  their  great  developement,  will  these  fail- 
ures cease.  If  they  will  put  their  hands  in  the  great  hand 
of  God,  He  will  lead  them  firmly  in  the  way.  What  is 
just,  what  is  right,  what  is  good,  let  them  do  these  and 
they  will  fail  no  more— what  is  wrong,  what  is  unjust, 
what  is  evil,  let  them  do  these,  under  whatever  pretext 
of  political  necessity  and  they  cannot  but  suffer  and  fail 
—renew  the  struggle,  and  suffer  and  fail  again— it  is 
this  great  lesson  which  an  open  Bible  and  free  institu- 
tions are  teaching  the  human  race."  Freedom  must  de- 
generate into  licentiousness  unless  the  supremacy  of 
right  is  maintained.  We  must  co-operate  in  our  spirit 
and  temper  and  aims  with  the  great  moral  ends  for  which 
the  State  was  instituted,  if  we  would  reach  the  highest 
point  of  national  excellence  and  prosperity.  The  ulti- 
mate purpose  of  God  is  that  the  dominion  of  Jesus  should 
be  universally  acknowledged— and  that  nation  only  will 
finally  and  permanently  prosper,  whose  people  have 
caught  the  spirit  and  habitually  obey  the  precepts  of  the 


36  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

Gospel.  Every  weapon  that  is  formed  against  Him 
must  be  broken  ;  and  the  people  that  will  not  submit  to 
His  authority  must  be  crushed  by  His  power.  Why  do 
the  heathen  rage  and  the  people  imagine  a  vain  thing  1 
The  kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves  and  the  rulers  take 
counsel  together  against  the  Lord  and  against  His  anoint- 
ed, saying— let  us  break  their  bands  asunder  and  cast 
away  their  cords  from  us.  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens 
shall  laugh— the  Lord  shall  have  them  in  derision.  Then 
shall  He  speak  unto  them  in  His  wrath  and  vex  them  in 
His  sore  displeasure.  Yet  have  I  set  my  king  upon  my 
holy  hill  of  Zion--I  will  declare  the  decree.  The  Lord 
hath  said  unto  me— thou  art  my  Son— this  day  have  I 
begotten  thee.  Ask  of  me  and  I  shall  give  the  heathen 
for  thine  inheritance  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth 
for  thy  possession.  Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod  of 
iron-— thou  shalt  dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  ves- 
sel. Be  wise  now  therefore  O  ye  kings,  be  instructed 
ye  judges  of  the  earth— serve  the  the  Lord  with  fear  and 
rejoice  with  trembling— kiss  the  Son  lest  He  be  angry 
and  ye  perish  from  the  way  when  His  wrath  is  kindled 
but  a  little. 

If  the  accounts,  which  the  Scriptures  give,  of  the  exal- 
tation and  universal  dominion  of  Jesus,  are  to  be  relied  on, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  Christianity  lies  at  the  foun- 
dation of  national  prosperity.  People  and  rulers  must  be 
imbued  with  the  spirit  and  observe  the  institutions  of  the 
Gospel.  We  insist  upon  no  national  establishment  of 
religion— upon  no  human  encroachments  on  the  rights 
of  conscience,  but  we  do  insist  upon  the  individual  and 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  37 

personal  obligations  of  every  man,  throughout  the  broad 
extent  of  the  country,  to  be  a  Christian,  and  the  corres- 
ponding obligation  to  act  as  a  Christian  in  all  the  depart- 
ments of  life,  whether  public  or  private.  As  Christiani- 
ty is  the  presiding  spirit  of  all  modern  civilization,  it  is 
the  only  defence  of  nations  against  barbarism,  rude- 
ness, anarchy  and  crime.  Let  Jesus  be  enthroned  in 
every  heart— and  the  nation  that  is  made  up  of  Christian 
men  will  soon  be  a  praise  and  a  joy  in  every  land. 

But  where  the  people  and  rulers  know  not  the  medi- 
atorial King,  whom  God  has  set  upon  the  Holy  hill  of 
Zion — where  His  Sabbaths  are  profaned,  His  temples 
deserted,  His  grace  despised — His  favour  must  be  with- 
drawn— the  fountains  of  national  virtue  must  dry  up — 
and  that  land  must  ultimately  be  given  to  wasting  and 
desolation.  The  strongest  security  within  which  the  in- 
stitutions of  this  country  can  be  entrenched,  is  the  pre- 
valence of  the  Christian  religion.  The  State  is  an  ordi- 
nance of  God  as  God  is  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world 
unto  Himself;  and  to  those  who  have  considered  the 
bearings  of  the  mediatorial  government  upon  the  pros- 
perity of  States,  there  is  nothing  surprising  in  the  pre- 
sent darkness  which  overshadows  the  land.  It  is  the 
rebuke  of  ungodliness  and  infidelity.  From  the  highest 
to  the  lowest  gradations  in  Society — from  the  chair  of 
State,  the  halls  of  legislation,  the  courts  of  justice,  the 
popular  assemblies  of  the  land,  the  cry  of  blasphemy, 
profaneness  and  atheism,  has  gone  to  heaven.  God's 
Sabbaths  are  polluted  for  the  purposes  of  gain — licenti- 
ous and  unprincipled  demagogues  make  it  a  business  to 


38  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

cheat  the  people  with  flatteries  and  adulations  which  are 
alike  dangerous  and  blasphemous — offices  are  sought  by 
open  chicanery  and  corruption  ;  and  amid  scenes  of  re- 
velry and  riot — more  befitting  the  orgies  of  Bacchus 
than  the  deliberations  of  a  free  people,  the  greatest  ques- 
tions of  the  nation  are  discussed.  The  debauchery  of 
the  people,  and  the  triumph  of  demagogues,  has  always 
been  attended  with  the  worst  form  of  slavery — that  bon- 
dage of  the  soul  in  which  every  man  is  afraid  to  enter- 
tain an  opinion  of  his  own — in  which  the  individual  is 
merged  in  the  mass  ;  and  when  this  result  is  reached, 
the  moral  economy  of  the  State  being  defeated,  we  can 
look  for  nothing  but  the  righteous  judgments  of  God. — 
The  reign  of  licentiousness  is  the  prelude  of  national 
dissolution.  The  people  that  will  not  have  Jesus  to  reign 
over  them,  must  be  slain  before  Him.  He  is  exalted  at 
God's  right  hand,  above  all  principality  and  power  and 
dominion,  and  we  must  submit  to  his  sceptre,  or  perish 
from  the  way  when  his  wrath  is  kindled  but  a  little. 

III.  But  this  event  may  be  finally  considered  as  the 
death  simply  of  a  man,  and  in  this  aspect  of  the  case,  the 
pulpit,  it  seems  to  me,  w^ould  but  inadequately  discharge 
its  duty,  if  it  failed  to  inculcate  the  distinctive  provisions 
of  the  Gospel,  as  the  only  means  of  securing  a  triumph 
over  this  last  enemy.  There  are  many  who  admire  the 
morality  and  praise  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  but  who 
are  content  to  form  no  higher  conception  of  its  power 
than  that  of  a  moral  institute,  distinguished  from  the  phi- 
losophical systems  of  men,  by  the  larger  compass  of  its 
views,  and  the  more  commanding  influence  of  its  sane- 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  39 

tions.  This  is  particularly  the  case  with  the  educated 
men  of  the  country.  It  is  painful  to  witness  the  fact  that 
so  many  of  this  class — to  which  it  will  be  your  distinc- 
tion to  belong — while  professing,  from  the  superficial  at- 
tention they  have  given  to  the  subject,  to  believe  that 
there  is  something  in  the  Gospel;  yet  either  from  a  lurk- 
ing skepticism,  or  the  absorbing  influence  of  other  cares 
and  pursuits,  are,  for  the  most  part,  profoundly  ignorant 
of  what  constitutes  its  essence  and  its  glory.  They  view 
it  from  a  distance — or  detect  nothing  in  it  but  an  author- 
itative statement  of  the  principles  and  tenets  of  natural 
religion.  But  ask  them  the  question — what  a  sinner 
must  do  to  be  saved  1  and  the  nakedness  of  their  an- 
swers will  evince  too  clearly  that  the  great  problem  of 
redemption  has  never  been  earnestly  considered.  The 
difficulty  is  that  they  have  never  felt  the  malignity  of  sin. 
They  have  never  experienced  the  sentence  of  condem- 
nation in  their  own  souls  ;  and  the  consequence  is  that, 
however  they  may  respect  the  voice  of  Jesus  as  a  teach- 
er, they  cannot  be  brought  to  submit  to  Him  as  a  Saviour. 
The  characteristic  distinction  of  the  Gospel,  is  that  it  is 
the  religion  of  a  sinner.  It  is  a  grand  dispensation  of 
Providence  and  grace  to  rescue  man  from  the  condem- 
nation and  ruin,  into  which  the  whole  race  has  been 
plunged  by  rebellion  against  God.  The  necessity  of  its 
arrangements  is  laid  in  the  very  nature  of  moral  distinc- 
tions—from which  it  results  that  sin  cannot  be  pardoned 
by  an  act  of  authoritative  mercy.  Without  the  shedding 
of  blood  there  is  no  remission,  and  he  alone  can  be  pro- 
perly denominated  a  Christian,  he  alone  is  entitled  to  the 


40  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

rewards  and  blessings  of  Christianity— who,  from  a  deep 
consciousness  of  guilt  and  rain,  has  fled  for  refuge  to  the 
hope  set  before  him  in  the  Gospel.  The  calumniated 
doctrines  of  grace  are  the  life  and  soul  of  our  religion. 
Personal  union  with  Jesus  by  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  indispensable  to  a  real  participation  in  the  ben- 
efits of  redemption.  Through  faith  in  the  Divine  Re- 
deemer death  the  last  enemy  is  conquered,  subdued,  de- 
stroyed. It  becomes  a  glorious  thing  to  die — it  is  only  a 
birth  into  a  new  and  everlasting  state  of  blessedness  and 
glory.  It  is  the  prerogative  of  the  faithful,  and  of  them 
alone,  to  depart  from  the  world  in  triumph.  There  is 
no  case  on  record — it  has  never  happened  in  the  expe- 
rience of  man — that  death  was  welcomed — hailed  with 
rapture  and  delight — by  any  but  those  for  whom  its  sting 
had  been  extracted  by  the  blood  of  the  great  Mediator. 
Still  we  must  guard  against  the  delusion  that  the  condition, 
of  peace  or  consternation,  in  which  a  man  expires,  is  any 
certain  indication  of  his  future  state.  The  righteous, 
through  the  temporary  darkness  of  unbelief,  through  ig- 
norance, or  doubt  of  their  acceptance  in  the  beloved,  or  as 
a  just  visitation  for  past  neglect,  may  be  permitted  to 
pass  from  the  world  in  apprehension  and  alarm  ;  while 
the  impenitent  and  wicked  may  be  bolstered,  in  their 
last  hours,  with  the  same  fatal  props  which  have  deceived 
them  through  life.  The  errors  which  have  shaped  their 
conduct  may  cling  to  them  until  the  veil  is  withdrawn 
and  eternity  has  become  a  matter  of  experience.  It  is 
no  uncommon  thing,  it  is  true,  for  conscience,  in  the  final 
struggle,  to  assert  her  supremacy — especially  in  the  case 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  41 

of  those,  whose  unbelief  and  disobedience  have  been  a 
conflict  with  reason  and  judgment.  They  are  permitted, 
yet  further,  to  look  into  futurity,  and  to  read  something 
of  the  fearful  scroll  which  will  be  produced  against  them 
at  the  bar  of  God  ;  and  they  shrink  back,  with  shudder 
and  dismay,  from  the  awful  catastrophe  that  awaits  them. 
Stung  by  remorse  and  enlightened  by  the  Scriptures, 
they  feel  that  it  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  living  God.  Death  is,  indeed,  a  terrible  object — the 
very  king  of  terrors— they  writhe  and  agonize  and  strug- 
gle against  his  encroachments.  Clinging  to  life  with  the 
tenacity  of  despair,  compelled  and  yet  afraid  to  die— 
they  curse  the  day  and  the  hour  in  which  it  was  said 
that  a  man  child  was  born  into  the  world. 

"  In  that  dread  moment,  how  the  frantic  soul 
Raves  round  the  walls  of  her  clay  tenement ; 
Runs  to  each  avenue  and  shrieks  for  help, 
But  shrieks  in  vain !   How  wishfully  she  looks 
On  all  she's  leaving,  now  no  longer  her's  ! 
A  little  longer,  yet  a  little  longer, 
Oh  !  might  she  stay  to  wash  away  her  stains, 
And  fit  her  for  her  passage.     Mournful  sight ! 
Her  very  eyes  weep  blood  ;  and  every  groan 
She  heaves  is  big  with  horrours.     But  the  foe 
Like  a  staunch  murderer,  steady  to  his  purpose, 
Pursues  her  close  through  every  lane  of  life, 
Nor  misses  once  the  track,  but  presses  on  ; 
Till  forced  at  last  to  the  tremendous  verge, 
At  once  she  sinks  to  everlasting  ruin." 

Such  is  the  end  of  an  awakened  sinner  ! 
There  are  others  who  depart  from  life  with  as  much 
insensibility  as  they  eat  or  drink  or  sleep.  Such  men  are 
6 


42  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

preeminently  sensual.  They  have  never  risen  to  any 
just  conceptions  of  themselves — of  moral  responsibility — 
of  final  retribution — of  an  immortal  being.  They  have 
never  felt  that  life  was  an  earnest  or  serious  reality — it 
has  been  to  them  merely  a  routine  of  mechanical  obser- 
vances, and  as  they  have  lived  like  beasts,  they  die  like 
dogs. 

There  are  others,  of  a  nobler  mould,  who  reconcile 
themselves  to  dissolution  by  the  considerations  of  a  stoical 
philosophy.  They  look  upon  death  as  an  appointment  of 
nature — an  inevitable  event,  and  they  endeavour  to  pre- 
pare themselves  to  submit  to  it  with  dignity  and  grace, 
since  resistance  is  vain  and  escape  impossible.  They  meet 
it,  therefore,  with  the  fortitude  and  courage  with  which  they 
would  encounter  any  other  calamity.  But  still  it  is  a  ca- 
lamity— it  is  not  a  messenger  to  be  greeted — not  an  object 
of  congratulation,  of  triumph  and  of  joy.  To  this  attain- 
ment paganism  was  competent  before  life  and  immortali- 
ty were  brought  to  light  in  the  Gospel.  The  philosophers 
of  the  ancient  world,  by  their  dim  and  misty  speculations, 
were  nerved  to  die  like  heroes,  though  none  could  die 
like  conquerors.  But  to  be  content  with  submission 
when  victory  is  within  our  reach  is  heroism  no  longer. 
To  endure  when  we  might  subdue  is  a  low  ambition. 
How  different  is  the  death  of  a  Christian  !  I  am  now 
ready  to  be  offered,  says  the  apostle,  and  the  time  of  my 
departure  is  at  hand — I  have  fought  a  good  fight — I  have 
finished  my  course — I  have  kept  the  faith.  Henceforth 
there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which 
the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day, 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  43 

and  not  to  me  only,  but  unto  all  them  also  that  love  his 
appearing.  We  are  conquerors  and  more  than  oonquer- 
ors  through  him  that  loved  us.  Through  death  He  has 
destroyed  him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is  the 
devil,  and  delivered  them  who  through  fear  of  death 
were  all  their  life-time  subject  to  bondage.  It  is  the 
glory  of  Christianity  to  erect  its  trophies  upon  the  tomb. 
Death  and  hell  were  alike  led  in  triumph  at  the  chariot 
wheels  of  Christ,  and  those  who  are  in  Him  can  sing  the 
song  of  exaltation  and  of  victory  amid  the  agonies  of 
their  dissolviug  clay. 

Let  me  beg  you,  my  young  friends,  however  you  may 
be  tempted  by  the  examples  of  the  great,  not  to  be  con- 
tented with  distant,  partial,  defective  views  of  the  econ- 
omy of  God's  grace.  It  is  not  the  greatness  of  their  in- 
tellects which  keeps  them  at  a  distance  from  Christ — it 
is  not  that  they  have  discovered  religion  to  be  a  cheat — 
not  that  they  have  weighed  its  evidences  in  the  balances 
and  found  them  wanting — it  is  simply  because  they  have 
never  examined  the  subject.  From  the  natural  aliena- 
tion of  the  heart  from  God,  the  influence  of  early  preju- 
dice, the  distractions  of  business — the  turmoil  of  ambi- 
tion— the  absorbing  power  of  their  pursuits — they  have 
kept  aloof  from  this  inquiry— and  though  they  have  won 
for  themselves  a  name  which  posterity  will  not  willingly 
let  die — the  very  qualities  of  mind  by  which  they  have 
been  enabled  to  do  so,  would  lead  them,  if  properly  di- 
rected, to  condemn  their  inattention  to  religion  as  an  act 
of  folly,  of  distraction  and  of  madness.  Deceive  not  your- 
selves  with  vain  hopes — Jesus  is  the  only   Saviour — in 


44  THOUGHTS  SUITED  TO 

the  day  of  final  retribution  there  will  be  no  respect  of 
persons.  On  that  great  day  shall  be  seen  "  no  badge  of 
State,  no  mark  of  age,  or  rank,  or  national  attire — or  robe 
professional  or  air  of  trade."  As  in  the  grave  whither  we 
are  all  hastening,  the  rich  and  the  poor  are  promiscu- 
ously mingled  together,  the  distinctions  of  honour  and  of 
wealth  vanish  away  as  colours  disappear  in  the  dark,  so 
in  the  last  day  none  can  be  found  to  claim  the  titles 
which  were  only  current  upon  earth.  It  will  then  be 
only  "  a  congregation  vast  of  men — of  unappendaged 
and  unvarnished  men — of  all  but  moral  character  bereav- 
ed." The  virtues  or  the  crimes  which  appertain  to  each 
are  all  that  he  can  carry  to  the  bar  of  the  Judge.  All 
else  will  be  left  in  the  tomb — as  the  worthless  badges  of 
mortal   and  not  immortal  men. 

There  is  a  distinction,  however,  that  shall  never  fade 
away — the  distinction  created  among  men  by  the  pos- 
session of  the  Spirit  and  a  personal  union  with  Christ. 
In  the  great  day  to  which  we  have  referred,  when  God 
shall  arise  to  shake  terribly  the  earth,  and  the  destinies 
of  all  the  race  shall  be  irrevocably  fixed — our  right  to 
life  will  depend  entirely  on  the  witness  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  None  can  sustain  their  title  as  sons,  but  those 
whom  He  has  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemption.  To 
appear  without  His  signet  on  our  foreheads  and  His 
impress  upon  our  hearts  is  to  awake  to  shame  and 
everlasting  contempt.  It  will  not  be  a  question  whether 
we  have  been  great  or  mean,  honoured  or  despised — 
rich  or  poor — it  will  avail  nothing  that  Senates  hung 
in  rapture  on  our   lips  and  nations  bowed  obedient  to 


THE  PRESENT  CRISIS.  45 

our  nod — bat  it  will  be  a  question — the  question — the 
turning-point  of  destiny — whether  we  have  the  Spirit 
of  God's  Son.  If  we  have  been  among  the  misera- 
ble skepticks — who  have  not  so  much  as  heard  whether 
there  be  a  Holy  Ghost — if  our  Christianity  has  been 
nothing  more  than  a  baptized  paganism — if  we  have 
despised  evangelical  religion  under  the  name  of  fan- 
aticism— and  laughed  at  pretensions  to  grace  as  the 
effervescence  of  enthusiasm — if,  from  any  cause,  we  have 
failed  to  be  born  again  and  to  become  new  creatures,  in 
Christ  Jesus,  however  admiring  multitudes  may  have 
chaunted  our  requiem  and  shook  the  very  arches  of  hea- 
vens with  their  plaudits— unlimited  duration  will  be  the 
period  assigned  us  to  lament  our  folly  and  bewail  the 
consequences  of  our  terrible  delusion.  My  young  friends 
be  not  deceived— an  endless  duration  is  your  destiny — 
feel  its  greatness— look  above  the  earth— look  to  your 
home  in  the  skies — seek  for  glory,  honour,  immortality — 
but  seek  them  only  in  the  Gospel  of  God's  grace.  Resolve 
first  to  lay  hold  upon  eternal  life— and  then  you  shall  never 
need  any  good  thing  on  earth.  What  stronger  proof 
could  you  demand  of  the  undying  nature  of  the  soul  than 
that  which  is  furnished  in  the  last  moments  of  our  de- 
parted Senator  1  What  stronger  proof  that  our  real  exis- 
tence begins  only  at  the  point  of  death  1  Prepare  for  that 
existence— and  your  life  here  will  be  glorious— your 
death  triumphant— and  your  end  everlasting  peace. 


UTION  AGAINST  HUMAN  DEPENDENCE. 


£ 


A   SERMON. 


DELIVERED 


T.     PETER'S     CHURCH,     CHARLESTON 


ON  SUNDAY,  THE  7th  OF  APRIL  1850. 


BY  WM.  H.  BARNWELL, 

RECTOR  OF  ST.   PETERS. 


ON    THE    OCCASION    OF    THE    DEATH 


OF   THE 


[ON.    JOHN    C    CALHOUN 


PUBLISHED     BY     REQUEST. 


CHARLESTON: 
EDWARD  C.  COUNCELL,  PRINTER,  NO.  119  EAST-BAY, 


1850. 


g^v 


V 


Hs   X 


. 


TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  SOUTH-CAROLINA. 
DEEPLY  AFFLICTED, 

BY  THE  LOSS  OF  THEIR  GREAT  STATESMAN, 

THIS  SERMON  PREACHED  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  HIS  DEATH, 

AND  DESIGNED, 

NOT  SO  MUCH  TO  SET  FORTH  THE  VIRTUES  OF  THE  DECEASED, 

ASS  TO  INCULCATE  THE  NECESSITY 

OF    RELYING    UPON    THE    LIVING    GOD, 

IS  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED, 

BY    THEIR    FRIEND    AND    FELLOW     CITIZEN, 

WM.  H.  BARNWELL. 


CHARLESTON,  APRIL  13,  1850. 
Rev.  Wm.  H.  Barnwell, 

Rev.  and  Dear  Sir— Permit  us,  as  members  of  your  congregation, 
to  express  our  gratification  at  your  Sermon  preached  on  Sunday  last, 
in  reference  to  the  death  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  to  request  a  copy  of 
the  same  for  publication. 

We  are,  dear  sir, 

Yours  very  respectfullj', 

CHAS.  EDMONDSTON, 
JAS.  ROSE. 
GEO.  M.  COFFIN, 
GEO.  A.  TRENHOLM, 
C.  G.  MEMMINGER, 
CHAS.  A.  DESAUSSURE, 
W.  C.  BEE, 
HOPSON  P1NCKNEY. 
C.  T.  MITCHELL, 
ROBT.  A.  PRINGLE, 
M.  W.  COLCOCK, 
JAS.  S.  G1BBES. 
CHAS.  N.  HUBERT, 
THEO.  D.  WAGNER. 


CHARLESTON,  APRIL  15,  1850. 

Gentlemen — Yours  of  the  13th  was  duly  received.  It  affords  me 
satisfaction  to  learn  that  you  were  gratified  with  the  discourse  refer- 
red to  in  your  communication  ;  and  in  compliance  with  your  request 
I  herewith  enclose  a  copy  for  publication. 

Very  sincerely  and  respectfully, 
Your  friend  and  pastor, 

WM.  H.  BARNWELL. 

Messrs.  Chas.  Edmondston,  Jas.  Rose,  and  others. 


Library*  J 


^s-  °t  California 


SERMON. 


Isaiah,  3-22. — "  Cease  ye  from  man,  whose  breath  is  in  his  nostrils;  for  wherein  is 
he  to  be  accounted  of?" 

The  name  of  this  Prophet,  Isaiah,  literally  the  Salvation 
of  God,  expresses  the  chief  topics  of  his  predictions — the 
coming  of  the  Messiah,  and  the  deliverance  it  was  to  accom- 
plish. His  disclosures  of  the  birth,  person,  sufferings  and 
glory  of  the  Redeemer,  are  so  vivid  and  full,  as  to  entitle  him 
to  the  name  of  the  Evangelic  Seer.  His  vision  overleaps  time 
and  space,  and  places  before  himself  and  his  hearers,  events  to 
occur  in  periods  and  countries  exceedingly  remote.  The  general 
scope  of  his  writings,  was  to  rebuke  the  sins,  not  only  of  Judah, 
but  of  the  ten  tribes  of  Israel  and  the  Gentiles  ;  to  invite  per- 
sons of  every  rank  and  nation  to  repentance,  by  promises  of 
pardon  and  peace  ;  and  to  comfort  the  truly  pious  (in  the  midst 
of  all  the  calamities  and  judgments  denounced  against  the 
wicked)  with  prophetic  assurances  of  the  true  Messiah,  which  in 
their  distinctness  seem  almost  to  anticipate  the  Gospel  History. 

The  particular  prophetic  discourse  from  which  the  text  is 
taken,  includes  the  second,  third  and  fourth  chapters  of  this 
Sacred  writer  ;  and  while  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  and  the 
conversion  of  the  Gentiles  are  foreshown  in  the  former  part  of 
it ;  the  punishment  of  the  unbelieving  Jews,  for  their  idolatrous 
practice,  their  confidence  in  their  own  strength  and  distrust  of 
God's  protection ;  the  destruction  of  idolatry  consequent  to  the 
coming  of  Christ ;  the  calamities  of  the  Babylonian  invasion 
and  captivity ;  together  with  an  amplification  of  the  distress  of 
the  proud  and  luxurious  daughters  of  Zion,  would  form  a  picture 
utterly  apalling,  but  for  the  promises,  with  which  it  closes,  to  the 
remnant  who  shall  have  escaped,  of  a  future  restoration  to  the 
favor  and  protection  of  God. 

It  is  in  the  midst  of  the  minatory  part  of  these  prophetic 
announcements,  that  the  inspired  bard,  in  the  peculiarly  para- 
bolic style  of  Hebrew  poetry,  which  under  images  taken  from 


8 

things  natural,  artificial,  religious  and  historical,  exhibits  things 
divine,  spiritual,  moral  and  political,  utters  one  of  the  most 
striking  descriptions  of  the  abasement  of  human  pride  before 
the  majesty  of  Jehovah,  that  the  mind  of  man  has  ever  con- 
ceived and  given  expression  to. 

"  Enter  into  the  Rock !  and  hide,  thee  in  the  dust, 
For  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  for  the  glory  of  his  Majesty. 
The  lofty  looks  of  man  shall  be  humbled, 
And  the  haughtiness  of  men  shall  be  bowed  down, 
And  the  Lord  alone,  shall  be  exalted  in  that  day, 
For  the  day  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts  shall  be 
Upon  everyone  that  is  proud  and  lofty, 

And  upon  every  one  that  is  lifted  up,  and  he  shall  be  brought  low  ; 
And  upon  all  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  that  are  high  and  lifted  up, 
And  upon  all  the  oaks  of  Bashan, 
Andupon  all  the  high  mountains. 
And  upon  all  the  hills  that  are  lifted  up, 
And  upon  every  high  tower, 
And  upon  every  fenced  wall, 
■     And  upon  all  the  ships  of  Tarshish, 
And  upon  all  pleasant  'pictures. 
And  the  loftiness  of  man  shall  be  bowed  down, 
And  the  haughtiness  of  men  shall  be  made  low  : 
And  the  Lord  alone  shall  be  exalted  in  that  day. 
And  the  idols  He  shall  utterly  abolish. 
And  they  shall  go  into  the  holes  of  the  rocks, 
And  into  the  caves  of  the  earth, 

For  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  for  the  glory  of  His  Majesty, 
When  He  ariseth  to  shake  terribly  the  earth. 

In  that  day,  a  man  shall  cast  his  idols  oj  silver  and  his  idols  of  gold, 
Which  they  made,  each  one  for  himself  to  worship, 
To  the  moles  and  to  the  bats; 
To  go  into  the  clefts  of  the  rocks, 
And  into  the  tops  of  the  ragged  rocks, 
For  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  for  the  glory  of  his  majesty, 
When  He  ariseth  to  shake  terribly  the  earth." 

Then,  as  if  to  intimate,  that  God's  judgment  was  provoked 


by  an  idolatrous  dependence  upon  human  means,  he  cautions 
them  against  this,  in  the  words  before  us — 

"  Cease  ye  from  man,  ivkose  breath  is  in  his  nostrils ; 
For  wherein  is  he  to  be  accounted  of?'1 

We  have  here  then,  a  solemn  remonstrance  against  undue 
reliance  upon  man,  based  upon  his  mortality  and  insufficiency. 
And  the  use  to  be  made  of  it  is,  I  presume,  anticipated  by  you. 

The  nation  seems  to  feel  afflicted,  and  our  commonwealth 
mourns  over  her  departed  statesman,  like  a  mother  over  an 
only  son.  Whatever  prejudices  may  have  prevailed  against 
him,  during  his  life,  are  apparently,  dispersed  by  the  stroke  of 
that  Divine  hand,  which  has  removed  him  from  earth ;  and 
those  who  in  the  discharge  of  their  public  duties,  had  felt  them- 
selves constrained  to  differ  from  him  most  widely,  have  seemed 
to  take  a  mournful  satisfaction  in  proffering  their  prompt  and 
decided  testimony  to  the  purity  of  his  character,  and  the  great- 
ness of  his  abilities. 

You  will  not,  of  course,  expect  me,  either  to  touch  upon 
party  politics,  or  to  attempt  any  thing  like  a  eulogy  of  the  illus- 
trious dead.  The  pulpit  is  certainly  not  the  appropriate  place 
for  political  discussions ;  nor  is  there  any  disposition  on  my 
part,  to  interfere  at  present  with  the  allotted  province  of  others, 
by  obtruding  upon  you  my  own  views,  either  of  the  great 
questions  which  have  agitated  the  nation,  since  this  distinguished 
statesman  entered  upon  public  life,  or  of  the  course  he  has 
pursued  in  reference  to  them. 

My  object  is,  only  as  your  Minister,  to  improve  to  your  spirit- 
ual good,  a  striking  event  in  the  Providence  of  God,  which  has 
probably  occupied  more  of  your  thoughts  and  conversation, 
since  last  we  met,  than  any  other  subject,  unconnected  with 
your  personal  concerns. 

One  who  is  set  as  a  watchman  upon  the  Towers  of  Zion, 
ought  not  to  be  an  unobservant  or  uninterested  spectator  of 
events  which  engross  the  public  mind.  Hoping  to  influence 
for  God,  as  it  is  his  province  to  do,  so  far  as  he  may,  the  wills 
of  his  hearers  ;  and  expecting  to  accomplish  this  pious  end,  by 
appeals  to  their  understandings  and  their  hearts  ;  it  is  important 


10 

tfiat  he  should  not  only  be  familiar  with  the  intellectual  and 
emotional  nature  of  man  in  general ;  but  that  for  the  timely 
inculcation  of  Divine  Truth,  he  should  avail  himself  of  any 
insight  he  may  obtain  into  the  particular  state  of  mind  and 
feeling,  which  passing  occurrences  produce,  either  in  his  own 
congregation  or  in  the  community  at  large.  "  A  word  spoken 
in  due  season,  hoiu  good  is  it" 

That  there  is  needed  at  present,  throughout  our  Union,  a 
solemn  remonstrance  against  an  undue  reliance  upon  human 
abilities,  whether  to  devise  plans  for  the  better  government  of 
mankind,  or  to  carry  them  into  operation,  can  scarcely  be  ques- 
tioned ;  and  if  the  death  of  one  whose  profound  political  saga- 
city was  universally  acknowledged,  and  whose  noble,  devoted 
patriotism  has  been  signally  evinced  for  so  long  a  period,  shall 
have  the  effect  of  turning  the  confidence  of  the  people  from 
man,  whose  breath  is  in  his  nostrils,  and  who  in  his  highest 
and  best  developments  of  mental  power  is  but  little  to  be 
accounted  of,  to  God  who  liveth  forever,  and  who  only  is  a 
present  help  in  every  time  of  need ;  the  loss,  which  not  only 
our  native  State,  but  the  civilized  world,  has  sustained  in  this 
afflictive  event,  will  be  more  than  compensated. 

The  Jews,  to  whom  Isaiah's  warning  was  delivered,  were 
prone  to  rely  upon  their  alliances  with  the  surrounding  Heathen 
Nations,  the  Egyptians,  Syrians  and  Assyrians,  instead  of  con- 
fiding in  their  own  covenant  God  ;  and  His  jealousy,  which  is 
represented  in  Scripture,  as  one  of  His  chief  though  most  terri- 
ble attributes,  is  thus  incessantly  exasperated  against  them. 
u  The  Egyptians"  saith  He,  in  a  woe  denounced  against  this 
practice>  through  this  same  Prophet,  Isaiah,  "  The  Egyptians, 
are  men,  and  not  God  ;  and  their  horses  flesh  and  not  spirit. 
When  the  Lord  shall  stretch  out  His  hand,  both  he  that  helpeth 
shall  fall,  and  he  that  is  holpen  shall  fall  down  ;  and  they 
shall  all  fail  together" 

It  can  scarcely  be  charged  upon  the  people  of  these  United 
States,  that  they  are  inclined  to  rely  upon  any  foreign 
power  for  aid  ;  or  that  they  are  tempted  to  forget  God,  by 
entanglements  with  the  affairs  of  other  nations.  In  this  res- 
pect, the  counsel  of  him  who  has  justly  been  called  the  Father 
of  his  Country,  has  been  in  general  complied  with ;  though 
a    political    philosopher  who  should    attempt    to  trace    our 


11 

last  war  with  Great  Britain  to  its  hidden  springs,  may  perhaps 
discover  some  of  them  in  the  sympathies,  by  which  the  two 
great  parties  that  divided  the  country,  had  become  respectively 
attached  to  France  and  England,  the  chief  belligerents  of  the 
day. 

But  whether  as  a  nation,  we  are  not  withdrawn  from  a  pro- 
per dependence  upon  the  Almighty,  by  an  extravagant  estimate 
of  ourselves,  is  a  question,  which  it  is  to  be  feared  even  the 
most  overweening  admirer  of  our  country,  would  be  constrained 
to  settle  against  us.  Nor  is  there  reason  to  hope,  that  the  jea- 
lousy of  the  Great  Sovereign  of  the  Universe,  will  be  less  pro- 
voked by  an  estrangement  from  Him,  which  results  out  of  an 
undue  dependence  upon  talent,  education,  attainment,  expe- 
rience, skill,  popular  opinion,  and  our  Federal  and  State  Con- 
stitutions, than  by  those  Heathenish  alliances  which  were  the 
great  source  of  idolatry  on  the  part  of  the  Jews. 

Not  that  these  things  are  unimportant  in  their  place  ;  or  are 
not  to  be  often  times  regarded  as  the  grounds  for  devout  grati- 
tude to  God.  Who  that  contemplates  with  the  most  sober  con- 
sideration, that  innate  force  of  the  human  mind,  which  inclines 
it  spontaneously  to  the  easy  acquisition  of  knowledge,  or  the 
successful  execution  of  practical  affairs,  but  must  admire  its 
mysterious  power  1  And  who  that  witnesses  the  steady  but 
almost  miraculous  results  of  education,  applying  as  it  were 
a  vegetative  principle  to  the  mental  faculties,  and  causing  them 
to  grow,  bud,  blossom  and  bear  fruit ;  can  fail  to  appreciate  it 
highly,  as  a  most  efficient  instrumentality  ?  Or  who  can  reflect 
upon  the  immense  power  derived  from  knowledge ;  putting  one 
man  in  possession  of  the  experience  of  ages — or  who  can  turn 
his  thoughts  to  the  vast  advantages  of  experience  ;  judging  of 
men  and  things,  not  upon  the  vague  basis  of  conjecture,  but 
upon  the  certain  conclusions  of  one  who  has  tried  them— or 
who  can  observe  the  consummate  effects  of  skill ;  marshalling 
and  arranging  the  substances  of  matter,  or  the  principles  of 
nature,  or  the  thoughts  of  the  mind,  nay  and  often  the  purposes 
and  actions  of  men  in  a  wonderful  manner  ? — Who  can  take 
such  a  view  of  these  advantages,  without  being  thankful,  that 
the  Ruler  of  the  Universe  has  bestowed  them  so  largely  upon 
our  fellow  countrymen?     Or  who  can  notice  without   awe, 


12 

the  insensible,  yet  tremendous  agency  of  popular  opinion,  heav- 
ing like  some  billow  from  shore  to  shore?  Or  who  can 
examine  the  admirably  contrived,  and  beautifully  balanced 
system  of  our  Great  Federal  Republic — without  regarding  it  as 
a  model  for  all  men  capable  of  self-government,  and  desiring 
not  only  its  perpetuity  here,  but  its  extension  every  where?  Yet 
to  one  of  spiritual  discernment,  all  of  these  blessing  with  which 
we  have  been  so  highly  favored  by  a  beneficent  Providence, 
may  clearly  appear  to  have  become  Idols ; — and  it  may  be 
justly  said — not  only  of  the  more  worldly  and  sensual,  but  of 
the  more  refined  and  intellectual  and  virtuous  and  patriotic. 

"  They  worship  the  work  of  their  own  hands, 
That  which  their  own  fingers  have  made." 

In  the  history  of  nations,  as  of  individuals,  there  occur  criti- 
cal periods,  when  the  most  important  consequences  hang  upon 
particular  acts,  which  impart  to  the  future  its  cast  and  color. 
That  such  a  crisis  is  at  hand  in  our  national  affairs,  seems  to 
be  the  general  apprehension  ;  and  that  one,  who  of  all  others 
was  the  best  qualified  in  talent,  education,  knowledge,  expe- 
rience, skill,  control  over  popular  opinion,  and  familiarity  with 
the  principles  of  the  Confederacy,  to  give  direction  to  affairs, 
should  be  struck  down  in  his  sphere  of  high  and  responsible 
duty,  just  ai  the  time  when  his  services  were  most  needed,  and 
when  too,  according  to  his  own  calm  judgment,  as  expressed 
but  the  evening  before  his  death,  he  could  accomplish  more 
good,  by  an  hour's  speech,  than  he  had  ever  done  before  ;  seems 
a  forcible  illustration  of  the  Prophet's  warning  to  cease  relying 
upon  man,  whose  breath  is  in  his  nostrils. 

Nor  is  itprobable  that  had  his  valuable  life  been  prolonged,  and 
health  been  restored  to  him,  he  would  have  been  able  to  produce 
the  effect  he  desired  and  toiled  for.  It  seems  incidental  to  the 
'very  nature  of  Republican  Governments,  that  public  men  of  ex- 
traordinary ability  and  sterling  integrity,  should  be  viewed  with 
jealousy,  not  only  by  those  whose  political  views  and  interests 
differ  from  theirs ;  but  by  those  who  in  the  main  agree  with  them. 
Hence,  statesmen  of  the  first  order,  have  been  frequently  superse- 
ded, by  persons  far  inferior,  but  from  circumstances,  more  popular, 


13 

It  cannot  be  doubted,  that  the  deceased,  was  regarded  with  the 
more  jealousy  out  of  his  native  State,  on  account  of  the 
unbounded  influence,  which  for  so  long  a  time,  he  had  enjoyed 
within  it.  By  both  of  the  political  parties,  he  was  looked  upon 
as  one  who  would  not  hesitate  in  any  public  emergency,  that 
seemed  to  demand  it,  to  act  an  independent  part.  By  both  of 
the  sections,  North  and  South,  he  was  regarded  as  standing 
somewhat  in  the  way  of  some  present  or  prospective  favorite 
candidate  for  the  Chief  Magistracy  of  the  Union.  So  that 
even  of  him,  who  had  made  Government,  especially  our  own 
Constitutional  Government,  his  ardent  and  laborious  study ; 
who  had  filled  with  the  most  signal  success,  and  spotless  purity 
most  of  the  highest  offices  of  that  Government ; — who  carried 
habitually  into  every  duty  that  he  undertook,  a  lofty  enthusiasm, 
a  comprehensive  forecast,  an  intrepid  purpose,  and  an  indefati- 
gable assiduity,  even  of  him  so  profound,  so  experienced,  so 
honored  and  so  efficient,  there  is  reason  to  think,  that  many 
who  could  not  but  admire  him,  were  beginning  to  say  with  the 
Prophet,  wherein  is  he  to  be  accounted  of?" 

The  reciprocal  attachment  between  himself  and  his  native 
State,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  his  character,  and 
circumstances  of  his  life,  should  impress  with  peculiar  force 
upon  her  citizens,  the  necessity  of  ceasing  from  man. 

True,  he  never  forsook,  never  betrayed  her.  Never  ceased 
to  watch  over  her  political  welfare,  with  a  sleepless  vigilance — 
never  failed  to  warn  her  of  even  distant  danger — never  hesita- 
ted to  front  every  foe  that  assailed  her, — and  to  sacrifice  freely 
in  her  cause,  every  high  hope  of  personal  ambition.  If  ever 
there  was  a  Statesman,  who  in  that  stern  and  hazardous,  yet 
necessary  warfare  of  politics,  where  so  many  of  the  greatest 
talents  and  experience,  have  suffered  themselves  to  be  frightened 
from  their  steadfastness,  or  corrupted  from  their  integrity,  or 
enticed  from  their  devotion — if  ever  there  was  a  Statesman, 
who  could  claim  from  his  constituents  entire  confidence  ;  the 
voice  of  South-Carolina,  not  sobbing  as  it  now  is  over  his  loss, 
but  in  the  firm  and  unaltered  tones  of  more  than  forty  years 
proud  and  affectionate  reliance,  proclaims — this  was  he.  And 
yet  see  the  vanity  of  making  man  our  stay  !  His  breath  flickers 
from  his  nostrils,  when  most  needed  to  make  his  last  appeal  in 
2 


14 

her  cause  j  and  into  that  hall  which  had  been  to  him  the  field 
of  so  many  intellectual  battles — less  bloody  it  is  true,  but  not 
less  severe  and  galling  than  those  of  the  sword — he  is  brought 
forth  like  a  slain,  but  unconquered  hero,  stretched  upon  his 
bier. 

If  there  be  no  impropriety  in  so  applying  the  touching  pas- 
sage of  Scripture,  it  seems  to  me,  our  beloved  commonwealth 
might  be  personified,  as  the  Royal  Minstrel  of  Israel  uttering 
that  pathetic  lamentation  over  his  best  earthly  friend. 

;{  How  are  the  mighty  fallen  in  the  midst  of  the  battle  ! 

0  Jonathan  !  thou  wast  slain  in  thine  high  places, 

1  am  distressed  for  thee  my  brother  Jonathan  : 
Very  pleasant  hast  thou  been  unto  me. 

Thy  love  to  me  was  ivonderful. 

Passing  the  love  of  women, 

How  are  the  mighty  fallen. 

And  the  weapons  of  war  perished  /" 

He,  does  not  seem  to  me,  to  have  studied  profoundly  either 
the  nature  of  man,  or  the  characteristics  of  the  age,  who  is  not 
ready  to  acknowledge  the  vast  ascendancy  of  energy  over 
numbers,  of  mind  over  matter,  of  virtue  over  every  thing  else  ; 
and  glancing  back  upon  the  history  of  our  common  country, 
for  the  last  forty  years,  and  inquiring  into  the  causes  of  that 
immense  influence,  which  our  great  Statesman  exerted  ;  we 
shall  discover  an  illustration  of  these  truths,  so  important,  not 
only  to  the  political  and  social,  but  to  the  moral  welfare,  both 
of  the  public  and  of  individuals.  Had  he  been  the  citizen  of  a 
large  and  populous  State,  whose  votes  in  the  Electoral  College, 
might  have  settled  almost  any  Presidential  question  ;  or  had  he 
been  possessed  of  great  wealth,  which  with  shame  be  it  spoken, 
exercises  but  too  potent  a  sway  over  the  people  ;  or  had  he  con- 
descended to  those  arts  of  chicanery,  by  which  popularity  is 
too  often  obtained ;  we  might  the  less  wonder  at  the  almost 
magical  power,  which  for  so  long  a  time  he  wielded.  But  his 
native  State  was  comparatively  small  and  feeble — bright  it  is 
true,  in  the  waning  prestige  of  Revolutionary  glory,  and  in 
the  character  of  many  of  her  living  sons— but  yet  gradually 


15 

losing  her  rank  in  the  scale  of  confederated  constellations,  as 
State  after  State  emerged  from  the  horizon  and  ascended  above 
her.  His  private  means  were  always  limited  ; — probably,  never 
more  than  enough  to  sustain  and  educate  his  family.  His 
lofty  scorn  of  every  thing  mean  and  debasing,  kept  him  aloof 
from  the  petty  intrigues  of  personal  and  party  politics.  Yet 
what  a  vast  place  has  he  filled  in  the  public  history  of  his 
generation,  and  what  a  strong  impulse  has  his  genius  given  to 
the  spirit  of  his  age — that  invisible,  impalpable,  but  mighty 
influence,  which  pervades  and  moulds  and  in  the  end,  controls 
affairs.  Whence  was  this  ?  Even  his  enemies  will  be  now 
ready  to  ascribe  it  to  his  mind,  his  eneigy,  his  virtue.  And 
when  they  say  this,  they  not  only  place  his  character  upon  the 
firmest  and  loftiest  human  pedestal  •  but  they  render  involun- 
tarily perhap?,  a  high  homage  to  the  Deity ;  while  they  add 
force  and  emphasis  to  the  Prophet's  warning.  "  Cease  ye  from 
man,  whose  breath  is  in  his  nostrils  ;  for  wherein  is  he  to  be 
accounted  off 

It  would  be  treason  to  Natural  as  well  as  Revealed  Religion, 
not  to  maintain  the  legitimate  supremacy  of  intellect,  will  and 
benevolence.  Fame  would  be  worthless,  nay,  would  be  per- 
nicious, if  accorded  to  one  who  could  lay  no  claim  to  these. 
But  God  and  man,  concur  in  this ;  that  without  a  mind  to 
discern  duty,  and  without  a  purpose  to  perform  it,  and  above 
all  without  a  heart  disinterestedly  to  desire  its  performance  ; 
none  can  be  fully  qualified  for  that  proper  fulfilment  of  high 
and  responsible  offices,  which  in  all  ages  and  nations  entitles 
one  to  the  confidence  of  his  contemporaries,  and  the  praises  of 
posterity.  You  need  not  be  informed,  that  God  is  the  author 
and  preserver  of  every  clear  and  vigorous  mind,  of  every  firm 
and  energetic  will,  and  of  every  virtuous  and  benevolent 
emotion.  The  student  of  Scripture,  and  the  mere  observer  of 
human  conduct,  however  they  differ  in  other  things,  probably 
agree  in  ascribing  ultimately  to  the  Deity,  not  only  many  of  the 
results  of  human  actions,  but  much  that  contributes  to  the  for- 
mation of  individual  character.  Nor  can  any  but  an  Atheist, 
contemplate  such  a  life  as  that  we  are  noticing,  without  per* 
ceiving  what  the  deceased  himself  believed  in,  the  controlling 


16 

influence  of  a  Divine  Mind,  and  a  particular  Providence,  ful- 
filling all  events,  and  shaping  all  characters,  according  to  an 
infinitely  wise  and  good  and  fore-ordained  plan.  To  conceive 
of  a  mind  like  that  of  the  deceased,  being  constituted  by 
chance  ;  or  to  conceive  of  his  purposes,  fraught  as  they  have 
been  with  momentous  consequences,  being  determined  without 
God;  or  to  conceive  of  his  virtuous  principles  being  formed,  and 
his  kind  emotions,  being  exercised  without  any  control  what- 
ever from  Him  in  u  whose  hands  are  the  hearts  of  all  men  as 
streams  of  water  ;"  would  be  as  contrary  to  the  deductions  of 
sound  philosophy  as  to  the  teachings  of  Scripture.  If,  in  any 
piece  of  complicated  machinery,  you  should  perceive  a  combi- 
nation of  powers,  directed  with  force  to  one  end,  and  that  end  a 
useful  one ;  would  you  not  laugh  to  scorn  the  impertinence, 
whether  learned  or  simple,  which  should  attempt  to  convince 
you,  that  natural  laws  merely,  and  not  mind;  accident  and  not 
design ;  curiosity  and  not  the  desire  of  usefulness,  had  wrought 
such  an  instrument  ?  If  you  beheld  a  body  of  troops,  composed 
of  the  various  kinds  of  the  service,  performing  with  mechani- 
cal, almoot  noiseless  precision,  a  great  variety  of  military  evo- 
lutions ;  would  you  not  smile  at  the  childlike  simplicity,  which 
should  surmise  that,  each  weapon,  and  each  war-horse,  and 
each  rank  and  each  man,  was  moved  by  some  magical  or  some 
independent  influence  ;  and  not,  that  there  was  one  command- 
ing mind,  who  had  settled  it  all  at  his  council  board,  and  was 
reviewing  his  machinery  to  see  how  it  worked  ?  And  if  you 
saw  a  terrible  yet  grand  mass  of  living  valor  like  this,  glowing 
to  evince  its  skill,  not  on  mere  fields  of  sport,  but  on  the  bloody 
arena  of  battle,  against  those  who  were  conceived  to  be  ene- 
mies ;  should  you  see  a  large,  well  disciplined,  well  officered 
army,  red-hot  for  war,  restrained  in  the  desired  work  of  destruc- 
tion, or  invasion  ;  and  reserved  only  for  purposes  of  peace  and 
usefulness ;  you  would  wonder  at  the  perverseness,  which 
ascribed  so  beneficial  and  humane,  and  philanthropic  a  result, 
to  any  but  a  good  motive  on  the  part  of  him  who  originated  it. 
The  wisdom,  the  energy,  the  humanity,  which  would  be  con- 
spicuous in  one  who  deeming  an  efficient  army,  necessary  for 
the  safety  of  his  country — prepares  one,  and  then,  when  it  had 
been  prepared,  advocates  Peace  ;  would  command  forever  the 


*     17 

world's  admiration.  It  will  be  for  the  eulogist  of  this  departed 
son  of  South-Carolina — with  the  blood  of  revolutionary  heroes 
in  his  veins — born  and  living  among  scenes  teeming  with  tradi- 
tions of  British  cruelty — bred  in  habits  of  hardy  independence, 
which  looked  only  at  the  end,  and  despisid  intervening  obsta- 
cles— entering  upon  public  life  at  a  time  when  the  women  of 
our  country,  glowed  at  the  insults  which  the  haughty  cross  of 
St.  George,  dominant  on  every  wave,  inflicted  upon  the  Eagle  ; 
and  when  "  Free  Trade  and  Sailors'  Rights"  was  the  watch- 
word of  our  very  boys — having  carried  by  his  immense  influ- 
ence, against  an  old  and  talented  and  most  respectable  party, 
the  party  of  Washington  himself,  the  party  of  the  leading  minds 
in  his  own  native  State,  measures  preliminary  to  the  Declara- 
tion of  war  with  England — having  conducted  with  triumphant 
executive  ability,  in  the  face  of  immense  difficulties,  the  hostili- 
ties to  a  prosperous  close—having  re-organized  the  War  De- 
partment with  wonderful  method  and  efficiency — having  con- 
tributed to  develope  all  the  resources  bf  the  country  even  at  the 
expense  of  the  General  Revenue,  and  at  the  sacrifice  of  some 
of  his  cherished  political  theories — having  previously  favored 
the  acquisition  of  new  territory — and  having  just  completed  the 
annexation  of  Texas,  through  his  jealousy  of  British  interfer- 
ence—it will  be  for  the  eulogist  of  Mr.  Calhoun  to  say  how 
much  credit  he  ought  to  receive  on  the  score  of  philanthropy, 
when  thus  descended,  thus  trained,  thus  stimulated  to  war 
with  England,  by  all  the  associations  of  the  past,  and  perhaps 
all  the  prospects  of  personal  elevation  for  the  future— he  stood 
forth  in  the  Senate  Chamber— on  the  Oregon  Question— and 
against  his  party — advocated  Peace.  But  1  refer  to  the  sub- 
ject now,  not  so  much  to  excite  in  your  minds  admiration  for 
the  dead,— though  trusting  as  I  do,  that  the  time  will  come, 
referred  to  by  Isaiah  in  the  very  chapter  before  us,  when 

<:  Men  shall  beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares, 
And  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks, 
When  nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation, 
Neither  shall  they  learn  war  any  more." 

I  doubt  not  this  instance  of  wise  and  strong  and  humane 
2* 


18 

forbearance,  will  beam  forth  among  the  brightest  of  History. 
I  refer  to  it,  however,  for  the  purpose  of  awakening  gratitude 
to  God,  and  cautioning  you  not  to  rely  upon  man,  but  upon 
Him  concerning  whom  the  Psalmist  has  declared — "  The 
shields  of  the  earth  belong  unto  God  ;  He  is  greatly  exalted." 
To  admire  the  character  and  conduct  of  the  human  instru- 
ment, who  under  such  circumstances,  served  to  protect  our 
country  and  Great  Britain,  nay,  our  common  humanity  from 
such  a  war ;  and  yet  to  withold  admiration  from  that  exalted 
Being,  upon  whom  that  instrument  professedly  relied,  and  who, 
unquestionably  had  both  prepared  him  for  that  crisis,  and  that 
crisis  for  him  ;  would  be  as  illogical  as  irreligious.  I  do  not 
say  that  we  have  any  right  to  withold  from  the  man,  the  praise 
which  is  justly  due  to  him  for  his  foresight  and  firmness  and 
enlarged  benevolence.  What,  as  God's  Minister,  I  claim,  is, 
that  the  Chief  Supreme  Honor  of  making  the  man,  what  he 
was,  and  enabling  him  to  act  as  he  did,  be  ascribed  to  Him — 
and  what  I  entreat  of  you  is,  be  persuaded  by  the  very  case 
before  us,  to  cease  from  man,  for  wherein  is  he  to  be  accounted 
of?  Lauded  as  the  humanity  of  our  Statesman  was,  for  act- 
ing so  nobly  as  a  "  shield  "  against  war  with  England,  and  for 
attempting  to  prevent,  and  bring  to  a  close  that  with  Mexico — 
still,  when  after  a  life  spent,  not  in  the  service  of  the  South, 
but  of  the  whole  Union, — with  a  frame  broken  down  by  Sena- 
torial toils,  and  burnt  out,  by  the  workings  of  its  ardent  and 
patriotic  spirit — with  a  foresight  acknowledged  to  be  almost 
prophetic,  he  implores,  with  confessions  of  weakness,  which 
coming  from  such  a  source,  ought  to  have  proved  overpower- 
ing— one  section  of  his  country,  to  forbear  from  aggressions  upon 
the  chartered  Institutions  of  the  other. — Institutions  among 
which  many  of  our  noblest  and  best  men  had  grown  up, 
had  lived  and  died — Institutions  which  he  ha  1  proved  to 
demonstration,  were  essential  to  the  very  existence  of  the 
inferior  race  subject  to  them,  and  without  which,  he  had 
conclusively  shown,  that  the  prosperity  of  the  whole  country, 
and  the  cause  of  civilization  would  be  thrown  back — when, 
with  almost  dying  lips — nay,  through  the  lips  of  another,  for 
his  own  were  too  feeble  for  the  utterance  of  his  last  weighty 
charge — he  solemnly  implored  forbearance  and  the  preservation 


19 

of  Constitutional  Equality,  he  is  censured  even  by  some  of  his 
political  friends,  and  his  enlarged  humanity,  and  conservative 
wisdom,  misconstrued  into  self-interest,  and  sectional  prejudice 
by  the  most  generous  of  his  opponents.  "  Cease  ye  then  from 
man,  whose  breath  is  in  his  nostrils  ;  for  wherein  is  he  to  be 
accounted  off 

The  infinite  disparity  which  exists,  between  the  mind,  will 
and  excellence  of  man,  even  in  his  highest  condition,  and 
those  of  God,  should  impress  upon  all  the  admonition  of  the 
text. 

The  human  mind  is,  unquestionably,  an  object  of  great  inter- 
est, and  a  source  of  immense  power.  When  originally  large 
and  strong  and  fully  developed  and  disciplined,  it  sets  man  upon 
an  eminence  only  little  lower  than  the  angels.  It  looks  intui- 
tively, not  only  into  the  nature  of  things  around ;  but  into  its 
own  nature,  and  aspires  to  know  somewhat  of  the  nature  of 
God.  It  analyses,  not  only  material,  but  immaterial  objects. 
It  investigates,  not  only  the  Laws  which  regulate  matter,  and 
ascertains  and  establishes  the  principles  of  Natural  Science; 
but  it  searches  with  deep  and  earnest  scrutiny,  those  still  more 
hidden  laws,  which  govern  the  political  state,  and  forms  and 
arranges  the  difficult  science  of  Government.  None  of  the 
pursuits  of  the  human  mind  ought  to  be  discouraged  or  despis- 
ed. But  next  to  Theology,  the  science  of  the  soul,  and  Meta- 
physics the  science  of  the  mind,  Government  is  entitled  to  be 
regarded  as  the  most  noble  and  dignified  study;  whether 
we  view  the  materials,  upon  which  it  works,  the  mental 
powers  it  demands,  or  the  momentous  results  that  flow  from  it. 
While  the  Naturalist  is  classifying  the  physical  world  ;  inform- 
ing us  of  the  nature  and  habits  and  qualities  of  objects  animate 
and  inanimate  which  belong  to  our  globe  ;  the  Political  Philo- 
sopher contemplates  the  History  of  Nations,  diving  down  into 
the  fundamental  principles,  upon  which  generations  of  the 
human  race  have  been  governed,  and  determining  the  con- 
ditions upon  which  rational  and  intelligent  beings,  having 
emerged  from  the  savage  state,  have  been  enabled  to  live  toge- 
ther in  harmony,  and  prosper  in  Political  Union. 

When  a  mind  of  high  order,  qualified  by  nature  and  educa- 
tion and  experience  for  such  a  study,  puts  forth  its  powers  in 


20 

close  application,  it  is  engaged  in  a  work,  that  tasks  it  to  the 
utmost,  and  the  conclusions  to  which  it  comes,  must  be  regard- 
ed with  great  deference,  so  long  as  man  continues  to  be  the 
subject  of  Government.  The  welfare  of  the  remotest  Nations, 
that  important  welfare  which  consists  in  good  government,  may- 
be affected  by  its  labors.  In  the  judgment  of  mankind,  those 
minds  which  have  toiled  successfully  in  these  pursuits,  have 
ranked  among  the  highest  and  noblest.  Their  abstractions  and 
theories  sway  multitudes,  long  after  they  are  departed.  But 
compare  with  the  greatest  of  these,  the  Divine  Mind,  and  how 
infinite  the  disparity  !  Conceive,  so  for  as  you  can,  of  this  Mind 
of  Minds — Original— Omniscient — One— enthroned  in  Eternity  ; 
and  planning  in  the  counsel  of  the  Mysterious  Trinity  in  Unity, 
the  Constitution  and  Government  not  of  all  mankind  only,  but 
of  Angels  and  Arch-Angels— nay,  arranging  with  infallible 
precision  how  fallen  men  are  to  be  redeemed,  and  revolted 
spirits  to  be  controlled — how  innumerable  myriads  of  rational, 
free,  responsible  beings,  in  Heaven,  on  earth,  and  under  the 
earth,  are  to  be  so  swayed  and  directed  forever,  as  to  bring  most 
glory  to  God,  and  most  good  to  His  elect ! 

Follow  the  movements  of  this  inconceivable  Mind ;  see  it 
inspiring  the  Prophets,  raising  up  Judges,  and  Rulers,  and 
Teachers  of  Righteousness—  see  it  preparing  those  who  were 
to  build  up  and  destroy  Heathen  Kingdoms — making  use  of 
Philosophers,  Orators,  Poets  and  Lawgivers — wielding  to  its 
purposes  the  swords  of  conquerors, — the  enterprize  of  voyagers — 
the  ingenuity  of  inventors,  the  genius  of  artists,  and  the  policy 
of  cabinets — nay,  pervading,  informing  and  governing  every 
other  mind  in  the  whole  Moral  Dominion  !  Think  of  this,  and 
say  whether  such  a  Mind  may  not  justly  warn  you  to  cease 
from  all  dependence  upon  created  Intelligences,  and  to  trust 
implicitly  upon  its  wisdom  and  counsel. 

But  the  measureless  superiority  of  God's  power  over  all 
human  energy,  should  conduct  us  to  the  same  conclusion. 

Not  that  in  the  conduct  of  human  affairs,  that  hidden  force, 
that  power  of  will  is  to  be  despised,  which,  when  it  has  an  end 
to  accomplish,  turns  the  very  elements  into  its  servants,  and 
converts  obstacles  into  the  means  of  success.  Invested  with 
executive  power,  this  energy  of  purpose  achieves  results  almost 


21 

supernatural.  Order  is  educed  out  of  confusion — promptness 
supplants  delay — vigor  expels  inertness — prosperity  overspreads 
the  gloomy  face  of  every  thing,  and  that  cheerful  confidence,  so 
essential  to  success,  and  which  grows  out  of  a  mutual  conscious- 
ness of  power,  fills  every  bosom.  Such  is  the  effect  which  a 
strong  and  active  will,  guided  by  an  intelligent  mind,  exerts 
almost  instantaneously  upon  human  affairs. 

But  how  can  we  compare  this  with  the  Almighty  power  and 
irresistible  energy  of  God  ?  Unseen  except  in  its  results — Om- 
nipresent, filling  all  space  at  one  and  the  same  time — coming 
into  contact  with  every  being,  and  every  object,  every  instant ; 
and  giving  to  all  not  only  their  motive  powers,  their  inherent 
forces,  but  their  very  existence — entering  insensibly  into  the 
very  spirits  of  men  and  Angels,  and  imparting  their  impulses — 
riding  upon  the  wings  of  the  winds — sweeping  onward  in  the 
flames  of  fire — breathing  in  the  storm — teeming  in  the  vegeta- 
tive principle — working  in  the  laws  of  gravitation — flashing  in 
the  electric  fluid — operating  in  every  way  that  can  be  conceived 
of— what  limit  is  there  to  the  power  of  God  ?  How  entire 
then,  should  be  our  dependence  upon  him  !  How  singular  to 
rely  upon  man,  whose  breath  is  in  his  nostrils,  and  whose 
energy  if  not  wasted  by  disease  or  indolence  is  utterly  extin- 
guished by  death  !  How  strange  the  infatuation,  to  trust  in  man, 
and  not  in  God  whose  power  is  infinite,  incomprehensible,  irre- 
ristible,  universal,  perpetual ! 

But  the  Divine  Goodness,  as  compared  with  that  of  the  best 
of  men,  renders  still  more  impressive  the  warning  of  the  text. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  deny  to  many  whose  souls  do  not  seem  to 
be  spiritually  renewed,  a  natural  benevolence  and  kindness,  and 
an  enlarged  philanthrophy,  which  prompt  them  not  only  to 
fulfil  the  offices  of  affection  to  their  friends  and  families ;  but 
to  seek  to  promote  the  happiness  and  welfare  of  the  world  at 
large.  Sacrifices  of  time,  and  thought,  and  ease,  and  comfort, 
and  even  of  influence  and  personal  aggrandizement,  are  thus 
often  made,  for  the  service,  not  of  oneself,  but  of  others,  stran- 
gers it  may  be  or  enemies.  The  beneficent  fruits  of  human 
kindness  are  chiefly  to  be  seen  and  felt,  in  the  domestic  and 
friendly  circle;  but  they  are  not  confined  there.  There  is 
often  in  minds  of  the  highest  order,  and  greatest  energy,   a 


22 

strong  and  earnest  desire  to  promote  the  happiness  of  all.  And 
in  public  measures,  which  are  suspected  of  being  set  on  foot 
chiefly  for  personal  or  party  purposes,  there  is  often  a  broad 
and  deep  under-current  of  good  feeling  and  wholesome  benevo- 
lence, which  coming  from  God,  and  benefiting  man,  ought  not 
to  be  disparaged.  Indeed,  without  some  degree  of  goodness 
and  benevolence,  a  character  is  exceedingly  defective,  and 
unworthy  of  confidence.  Philanthrophy,  true,  intelligent,  con- 
siderate, warm,  yet  sober  philanthropy,  lies  at  the  foundation  of 
both  public  and  private  virtue.  Kindness,  genuine  kindness, 
is  the  social  bond  of  nations  and  communities,  as  well  as  fami- 
lies. Love  pure,  fervent  love,  is  the  badge  of  Christian  disciple- 
ship.  And  thanks  be  to  God  ! — our  earth  and  our  country  are 
still  blessed  and  adorned  with  many  examples  of  these  benefi- 
cent emotions.  But,  contrast  with  them  all,  not  only  that  now 
are,  but  that  have  ever  been,  the  goodness  and  loving  kindness 
of  God  !  Is  it  necessary  that  I  shall  dwell  upon  these  ?  Need 
I  do  more  than  simply  advert  to  them  ?  Are  you  not  as  fami- 
liar with  my  views  and  feelings  on  this  grand  and  inspiring, 
yet  melting  theme,  as  with  the  names  of  your  friends  and  chil- 
dren 7  What  has. my  ministry  been  among  you,  from  the  first 
time  it  began,  until  this  day  ?  What  is  is  now  ?  What  is  it 
hereafter  to  be,  but  an  attempt,  earnest,  sincere,  yet  too  often 
fruitless  attempt  to  exhibit  to  you  the  wonderful  love  of  God 
as  evinced  in  the  gift  of  His  Son  3  What  theme  has  been 
brought  to  your  notice  so  constantly,  as  the  amazing  goodness 
of  God,  which  beams  forth  from  the  doctrine  of  a  Crucified 
Redeemer — a  Messiah,  coming  to  conquer  not  by  the  sword,  but 
by  suffering — a  Prince  of  Peace — preserving  and  restoring  har- 
mony between  God  and  His  Moral  Intelligencies, — not  by 
intrigue — not  by  deception — not  by  a  surrender  of  any  of  the 
Majesty  of  the  Godhead — or  of  any  of  the  moral  and  intelec- 
tual  privileges  of  man, — but  by  a  Mediation — based  upon  his 
own  sacrificial  death,  and  perfect  obedience — a  King  of  Kings — 
reigning,  not  over  the  mere  persons  and  property,  but  over  the 
hearts  of  his  people — a  Comforter  of  the  afflicted — teaching 
them  not  to  forget  their  sorrows  or  drown  them  in  dissipation 
and  business,  but  to  cast  them  upon  him — a  Friend  to  sinners — 


23 

assuring  them  of  forgiveness,  if  they  repent  and  trust  in  Him— 
a  Helper  to  the  poor  and  needy — and  despised  and  injured— 
pointing  them  to  his  own  earthly  condition,  who  though  rich, 
became  poor,  that  they  through  his  poverty  might  be  made 
rich — and  promising  them  if  faithful,  a  seat  and  crown  at  his 
side  on  His  glorious  Throne. 

If  all  that,  as  God's  minister,  and  your  servant  for  Christ's 
sake,  I  have  said  to  you  upon  the  warranty  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, of  the  Divine  Goodness  and  Love  in  Christ,  has  not  satis- 
fied you,  of  its  all-sufficiency,  as  a  foundation  for  your  reliance — 
let  me  then,  this  day,  entreat  you,  in  all  the  emergencies  and 
perplexities,  whether  political,  ecclesiastical,  social  or  personal, 
that  may  arise  and  annoy  you — listen  to  the  voice  of  God 
through  the  Prophet — "  Cease  ye  from  man,  whose  breath  is  in 
his  nostrils  ;  for  wherein  is  he  to  be  account  of  /" 

Whether  as  a  judgment  for  our  public  and  private  transgres- 
sions, God  in  his  Providence  means  to  shake  in  our  hitherto 
happy  and  united  country,  the  Political  Heavens  and  Earth, 
as  he  has  done  in  Europe— and  abase  before  His  Majesty  here, 
as  he  has  done  there,  the  high  personages,  and  offices,  which 
have  been  lifting  up  their  heads  against  him — it  is  not  for  us 
to  know.  At  least,  let  us  bear  in  mind — that  in  such  distress- 
ing agitations — the  Rock  that  we  are  to  get  into  is  the  Rock 
of  Ages — based  upon  the  eternal  counsel  of  God — and  shelter- 
ing all  who  resort  to  it,  by  the  covenanted  Wisdom,  Power 
and  Love,  of  the  one  only  and  true  God,  the  Holy  Blessed  and 
Glorious  Trinity  !  That  the  family  of  the  deceased,  and  all 
in  our  native  State,  and  our  whole  country,  who  lament  his 
removal  from  earth,  may  be  led  to  trust  in  his  Great  and  Ador- 
able Being — is  my  fervent  prayer. 


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